Prof.  Ramesh C. Ray, Ph.D., is an agriculture and food microbiologist, author, editor, and is currently serving as an adjunct professor in industrial biotechnology at Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (SOA), deemed to be a University, Bhubaneswar, India. He is a former distinguished member of the Agricultural Research Service of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, and Head of the Regional Centre, ICAR–Central Tuber Crops Research Institute at Bhubaneswar, India. Dr. Sirajunnisa Abdul Razack, PhD, PDF, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, Acharya Institute of Technology, Karnataka, India. She has nearly fifteen years of research experience, including post-doctoral fellowships awarded by Anna University, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand and Pukyong National University, South Korea.Dr. Yuvaraj Ravikumar, Ph.D, PDF, is a biochemist and computational biologist, author, and review editor, and is currently serving as an Associate Professor in the biotechnology department at Acharya Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India. He is a Visiting Professor at Chiang Mai University, Thailand and has nearly eleven years of research experience, including post-doctoral fellowships awarded by Incheon National University, South Korea, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and Jiangsu University, China.

• 1 β-glucans from microbial sources: an introduction and overview of their use in the food industry (Dr. Sirajunnisa  et al.).- 2 Xanthan gum: microbial production, characterization and applications (Prof.Kianoush Khosravi-Darani, Professor of Food Biotechnology,National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P. O. Box 19395-4741, Tehran, Iran; kiankh@yahoo.com).- 3 Curdlan biosynthesis, production, and applications (Dr. Zhang, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China; zhang_dw@tib.cas.cn).- 4 Gellan Gum: Biosynthesis and Applications (T.P. West, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Commerce, TX 75429, USA; Thomas.West@tamuc.edu).- 5 Pullulan: a β-glucan from a beneficial fungus, Aureobasidium pullulans.- (Yuvaraj Ravikumar, School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu, China; ravikumaryuvi@gmail.com).- 6 Microalgae derived β-glucan: producers, biosynthesis, and role in the food industry (Juliana Botelho Moreira, Laboratory of Microbiology and Biochemistry, College of Chemistry and Food Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande, P.O. Box 474, Rio Grande 96203-900, RS, Brazil; julianapvi@yahoo.com.br).- 7 Yeast as the source of microbial β-glucan (Won Je Jang, Biopharmaceutical Engineering Major, Division of Applied Bioengineering, Dong-Eui University, Busan 47340, Republic of Korea; wjjang@deu.ac.kr).- 8 Combination of microbial β-glucan with other polymers for biobased film development (Gargi Dey, Biotechnology Department, KIIT University, Orissa, India; drgargi.dey@gmail.com).- 9 Recent Advances in the directed evolution of β-glucans producing enzymes (Tom Desmet, Centre for Synthetic Biology (CSB), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; tom.desmet@ugent.be).- 10 Extraction of Beta-Glucan from Microbial Byproducts: Processes and Technological Potential (Ailton Cesar Lemes, Departamento de Engenharia Bioquímica - Escola de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil; ailtonlemes@eq.ufrj.br).- 11 Nanotechnology and β-glucans: a conjugation for better benefits in packaging and preservation (Geethalakshmi Ramakrishnan, Bionanoparticles Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology, Anna University, Guindy, 600025, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; geetha7792@gmail.com).- 12 β-glucans as the potential resources in food packaging and preserving applications (Vlatka Petravić-Tominac, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, Department of Biochemical Engineering, Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Industrial Microbiology and Malt and Beer Technology, Pierottijeva 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; vpetrav@pbf.hr).- 13 Commercial β-glucans food products - Biosafety, environmental implications, current legal status, and its future perspectives (Adam Shahul Hameed, Biofuels Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology, Anna University, Guindy, 600025, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; adamprofs@gmail.com).

Prof.  Ramesh C. Ray, Ph.D., is an agriculture and food microbiologist, author, editor, and is currently serving as an adjunct professor in industrial biotechnology at Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (SOA), deemed to be a University, Bhubaneswar, India. He is a former distinguished member of the Agricultural Research Service of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, and Head of the Regional Centre, ICAR–Central Tuber Crops Research Institute at Bhubaneswar, India. Dr. Sirajunnisa Abdul Razack, PhD, PDF, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, Acharya Institute of Technology, Karnataka, India. She has nearly fifteen years of research experience, including post-doctoral fellowships awarded by Anna University, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand and Pukyong National University, South Korea.Dr. Yuvaraj Ravikumar, Ph.D, PDF, is a biochemist and computational biologist, author, and review editor, and is currently serving as an Associate Professor in the biotechnology department at Acharya Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India. He is a Visiting Professor at Chiang Mai University, Thailand and has nearly eleven years of research experience, including post-doctoral fellowships awarded by Incheon National University, South Korea, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and Jiangsu University, China.

• 1 β-glucans from microbial sources: an introduction and overview of their use in the food industry (Dr. Sirajunnisa  et al.).- 2 Xanthan gum: microbial production, characterization and applications (Prof.Kianoush Khosravi-Darani, Professor of Food Biotechnology,National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P. O. Box 19395-4741, Tehran, Iran; kiankh@yahoo.com).- 3 Curdlan biosynthesis, production, and applications (Dr. Zhang, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China; zhang_dw@tib.cas.cn).- 4 Gellan Gum: Biosynthesis and Applications (T.P. West, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Commerce, TX 75429, USA; Thomas.West@tamuc.edu).- 5 Pullulan: a β-glucan from a beneficial fungus, Aureobasidium pullulans.- (Yuvaraj Ravikumar, School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu, China; ravikumaryuvi@gmail.com).- 6 Microalgae derived β-glucan: producers, biosynthesis, and role in the food industry (Juliana Botelho Moreira, Laboratory of Microbiology and Biochemistry, College of Chemistry and Food Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande, P.O. Box 474, Rio Grande 96203-900, RS, Brazil; julianapvi@yahoo.com.br).- 7 Yeast as the source of microbial β-glucan (Won Je Jang, Biopharmaceutical Engineering Major, Division of Applied Bioengineering, Dong-Eui University, Busan 47340, Republic of Korea; wjjang@deu.ac.kr).- 8 Combination of microbial β-glucan with other polymers for biobased film development (Gargi Dey, Biotechnology Department, KIIT University, Orissa, India; drgargi.dey@gmail.com).- 9 Recent Advances in the directed evolution of β-glucans producing enzymes (Tom Desmet, Centre for Synthetic Biology (CSB), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; tom.desmet@ugent.be).- 10 Extraction of Beta-Glucan from Microbial Byproducts: Processes and Technological Potential (Ailton Cesar Lemes, Departamento de Engenharia Bioquímica - Escola de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil; ailtonlemes@eq.ufrj.br).- 11 Nanotechnology and β-glucans: a conjugation for better benefits in packaging and preservation (Geethalakshmi Ramakrishnan, Bionanoparticles Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology, Anna University, Guindy, 600025, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; geetha7792@gmail.com).- 12 β-glucans as the potential resources in food packaging and preserving applications (Vlatka Petravić-Tominac, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, Department of Biochemical Engineering, Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Industrial Microbiology and Malt and Beer Technology, Pierottijeva 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; vpetrav@pbf.hr).- 13 Commercial β-glucans food products - Biosafety, environmental implications, current legal status, and its future perspectives (Adam Shahul Hameed, Biofuels Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology, Anna University, Guindy, 600025, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; adamprofs@gmail.com).

Prof.  Ramesh C. Ray, Ph.D., is an agriculture and food microbiologist, author, editor, and is currently serving as an adjunct professor in industrial biotechnology at Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (SOA), deemed to be a University, Bhubaneswar, India. He is a former distinguished member of the Agricultural Research Service of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, and Head of the Regional Centre, ICAR–Central Tuber Crops Research Institute at Bhubaneswar, India. Dr. Sirajunnisa Abdul Razack, PhD, PDF, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, Acharya Institute of Technology, Karnataka, India. She has nearly fifteen years of research experience, including post-doctoral fellowships awarded by Anna University, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand and Pukyong National University, South Korea.Dr. Yuvaraj Ravikumar, Ph.D, PDF, is a biochemist and computational biologist, author, and review editor, and is currently serving as an Associate Professor in the biotechnology department at Acharya Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India. He is a Visiting Professor at Chiang Mai University, Thailand and has nearly eleven years of research experience, including post-doctoral fellowships awarded by Incheon National University, South Korea, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and Jiangsu University, China.

• 1 β-glucans from microbial sources: an introduction and overview of their use in the food industry (Dr. Sirajunnisa  et al.).- 2 Xanthan gum: microbial production, characterization and applications (Prof.Kianoush Khosravi-Darani, Professor of Food Biotechnology,National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P. O. Box 19395-4741, Tehran, Iran; kiankh@yahoo.com).- 3 Curdlan biosynthesis, production, and applications (Dr. Zhang, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China; zhang_dw@tib.cas.cn).- 4 Gellan Gum: Biosynthesis and Applications (T.P. West, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Commerce, TX 75429, USA; Thomas.West@tamuc.edu).- 5 Pullulan: a β-glucan from a beneficial fungus, Aureobasidium pullulans.- (Yuvaraj Ravikumar, School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu, China; ravikumaryuvi@gmail.com).- 6 Microalgae derived β-glucan: producers, biosynthesis, and role in the food industry (Juliana Botelho Moreira, Laboratory of Microbiology and Biochemistry, College of Chemistry and Food Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande, P.O. Box 474, Rio Grande 96203-900, RS, Brazil; julianapvi@yahoo.com.br).- 7 Yeast as the source of microbial β-glucan (Won Je Jang, Biopharmaceutical Engineering Major, Division of Applied Bioengineering, Dong-Eui University, Busan 47340, Republic of Korea; wjjang@deu.ac.kr).- 8 Combination of microbial β-glucan with other polymers for biobased film development (Gargi Dey, Biotechnology Department, KIIT University, Orissa, India; drgargi.dey@gmail.com).- 9 Recent Advances in the directed evolution of β-glucans producing enzymes (Tom Desmet, Centre for Synthetic Biology (CSB), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; tom.desmet@ugent.be).- 10 Extraction of Beta-Glucan from Microbial Byproducts: Processes and Technological Potential (Ailton Cesar Lemes, Departamento de Engenharia Bioquímica - Escola de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil; ailtonlemes@eq.ufrj.br).- 11 Nanotechnology and β-glucans: a conjugation for better benefits in packaging and preservation (Geethalakshmi Ramakrishnan, Bionanoparticles Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology, Anna University, Guindy, 600025, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; geetha7792@gmail.com).- 12 β-glucans as the potential resources in food packaging and preserving applications (Vlatka Petravić-Tominac, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, Department of Biochemical Engineering, Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Industrial Microbiology and Malt and Beer Technology, Pierottijeva 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; vpetrav@pbf.hr).- 13 Commercial β-glucans food products - Biosafety, environmental implications, current legal status, and its future perspectives (Adam Shahul Hameed, Biofuels Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology, Anna University, Guindy, 600025, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; adamprofs@gmail.com).