Pietro Buzzini – författare

This book presents an up-to-date review of the ecology of yeast communities in natural ecosystems. It focuses on their biological interactions, including mutualism, parasitism, commensalism and antagonistic interactions, and is closely connected with the volume Yeasts in Natural Ecosystems: Diversity by the same editors.

Yeasts are the smallest eukaryotic organisms successfully growing under a wide range of environmental conditions. They constantly modify the environment through their own metabolic activities. Although yeasts are among the earlier colonizers of nutrient-rich substrates, their role in ecosystem processes is not limited to the consumption and transformation of simple sugars. They also engage in close relationships with animals, plants and other fungi in the environment as mutualists, competitors, parasites and pathogens. This book reviews the diversity of biological interactions and roles of yeasts in ecosystems and summarises recent concepts andtools developed in community ecology. All of the chapters were written by leading international yeast research experts, and will appeal to researchers and advanced students in the field of microbial ecology.

This book focuses on the diversity of yeasts in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, including the association of yeasts with insects, invertebrate and vertebrate animals. It offers an overview of the knowledge accumulated in the course of more than 60 years of research and is closely connected with the volume Yeasts in Natural Ecosystems: Ecology by the same editors.

In view of the rapid decline of many natural habitats due to anthropogenic activities and climate change, the need to study biodiversity is pressing. Rising temperatures threaten species inhabiting cold and aquatic environments, and species in terrestrial ecosystems are endangered by habitat fragmentation or loss. Most of our knowledge of intrinsic properties (autoecology) of yeasts reported throughout this book is derived from laboratory experiments with pure cultures. Accordingly, the importance of culture collections for ecological studies is highlighted by presenting an overview of worldwide available yeast strains and their origins. All of the chapters were written by leading international yeast research experts, and will appeal to researchers and advanced students in the field of microbial diversity.

Yeasts are a versatile group of eukaryotic microorganisms, exhibiting heterogeneous nutritional profiles and an extraordinary ability to survive in a wide range of natural and man-associated ecosystems, including cold habitats. Cold-adapted yeasts inhabit numerous low-temperature environments where they are subjected to seasonal or permanent cold conditions. Hence, they have evolved a number of adaptation strategies with regard to growth and reproduction, metabolic activities, survival and protection. Due to their distinctive ability to thrive successfully at low and even subzero temperatures, cold-adapted yeasts are increasingly attracting attention in basic science and industry for their enormous biotechnological potential.

This book presents our current understanding of the diversity and ecology of cold-adapted yeasts in worldwide cold ecosystems, their adaptation strategies, and their biotechnological significance. Special emphasis is placed on the exploitation of cold-adapted yeasts as a source of cold-active enzymes and biopolymers, as well as their benefits for food microbiology, bioremediation and biocontrol. Further, aspects of food biodeterioration are considered.