Focus on Biotechnology – serie

This work presents a selection of approaches for the production of novel biotechnological compounds for biomedical applications. In order to better focus on the challenges at hand, the editors have striven to adopt an integrative approach by selecting contributions linking genomics with bacterial resistance, antibiotics with improved production strategies, optimised production approaches with chemical development programs, chemical modifications with new antibody derivatives and biomaterials, the relation between bioartificial organs and xenotransplantation, apoptosis and process biotechnology, etc. The different chapters provide an overview of the state- of-the-art in the development of truly novel compounds for biomedical application using recombinant DNA approaches. This book should be of interest to academic and industrial scientists dealing with biomedical sciences and for teachers who want to be informed about developments in the field.

Animal biotechnology is a broad umbrella encompassing the polarities of fundamental and applied research including molecular modelling, molecular and quantitative genetics, gene manipulation, development of diagnostics and vaccines and manipulation of tissue or digestion metabolism by growth promoters. Although animal biotechnology in the broadest sense is not new, what is new is the level of complexity and precision involved in scientists' current ability to manipulate living organisms. This new book sets out to show that the important ideas in animal biotechnology are exciting and relevant to everyday experience. It represents an important update of the literature for research workers, lecturers, and advisers in animal science, but is also a core text for advanced undergraduate courses in animal science and biotechnology. It will be an essential acquisition for librarians in agriculture and veterinary science.

This book illustrates the major trends in applied microbiology research with immediate or potential industrial applications. The papers proposed reflect the diversity of the application fields. New microbial developments have been done as well in the food and health sectors than in the environmental technology or in the fine chemical production. All the microbial genera are involved : yeast, fungi and bacteria. The development of biotechnology in parallel with the industrial microbiology has enabled the application of microbial diversity to our socio-economical world. The remarkable properties of microbes, inherent in their genetic and enzymatic material, allow a wide range of applications that can improve our every day life. Recent studies for elucidating the molecular basis of the physiological processes in micro-organisms are essential to improve and to control the metabolic pathways to overproduce metabolites or enzymes of industrial interest. The genetic engineering is of course one of the disciplines offering new horizons for the « fantastic microbial factory » . Studies of the culture parameter incidence on the physiology and the morphology are essential to control the response of the micro-organisms before its successful exploitation at the industrial scale. For this purpose, fundamental viewpoints are necessary. Development of novel approaches to characterise micro-organisms would also facilitate the understanding of the inherent metabolic diversity of the microbial world, in terms of adaptation to a wide range of biotopes and establishment of microbial consortia.

Early integration is the key to success in industrial biotechnology. This is as true when a selected wild-type organism is put to work as when an organism is engineered for a purpose. The present volume Engineering and Manufacturing for Biotechnology took advantage of the 9th European Congress on Biotechnology (Brussels, Belgium, July 11-15, 1999): in the topics handled and in the expertise of the contributors, the engineering science symposia of this congress offered just what was needed to cover the important topic of integration of process engineering and biological research. The editors have solicited a number of outstanding contributions to illustrate the intimate interaction between productive organisms and the numerous processing steps running from the initial inoculation to the packaged product. Upstream processing of the feed streams, selection of medium components, product harvesting, downstream processing, and product conditioning are just a few major steps. Each step imposes a number of important choices. Every choice is to be balanced against time to market, profitability, safety, and ecology.

Advances in the field of biotechnology cannot simply be ascribed to one scientific discipline. Rather, scientists from various backgrounds, ranging from fundamental physics and chemistry to the (bio) applied sciences, have joined their efforts in order to make this new era of "high-tech" biotechnology possible. In this volume, a selected group of distinguished experts describe how their field succeeded in developing the new frontiers of biotechnology.

At the dawn of the 21st century, biotechnology is emerging as a key enabling technology for sustainable environmental protection and stewardship. "Biotechnology for the Environment: Strategy and Fundamentals" captures the dynamism of environmental biotechnology as it addresses the molecular functioning of microorganisms as cleanup agents, their communal interactions in natural and polluted ecosystems, and the foundations of practical bioremediation processes. Chapters on biological pollution control in the chemical industry, biodegradation of persistent molecules (halogenated compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, pesticides, detergents, etc.), microbial diversity with impact on global change, bioaugmentation strategies, and sensors for ecotoxicological monitoring, will be of value to environmental scientists, engineers, and decision-makers involved in the development, evaluation, or implementation of biological treatment systems. For information on Soil Remediation, see "Focus on Biotechnology, volume 3B", and for information on Waste Water and Waste Gas Handling, see ?Focus on Biotechnology, Volume 3C".

At the dawn of the 21st century, biotechnology is emerging as a key enabling technology for sustainable environmental protection and stewardship. Biotechnology for the Environment: Soil Remediation offers a state-of-the-art account of environmental biotechnology both in emerging and in more mature technological applications of soil remediation and cleanup of contaminated sites. Harnessing the potential of microorganisms and plants as eco-efficient and robust cleanup agents in a variety of practical situations is not only possible but is becoming widespread practice. Chapters are featured on current experience and trends in bioremediation of contaminated soil, life cycle assessment software tools for remediation planning, ex situ cleanup technologies using slurry reactors, implementation of anaerobic and aerobic in situ processes including monitored natural attenuation, complementary technologies on pesticide immobilisation in soil or humification of nitroaromatics, and, finally, phytoremediation of recalcitrant organic compounds and heavy metals. For more information on Strategy and Fundamentals, see Focus on Biotechnology Volume 3A, and for more information on Waste Water and Waste Gas Handling, see Focus on Biotechnology Volume 3C.

At the dawn of the 21st century, biotechnology is emerging as a key enabling technology for sustainable environmental protection and stewardship. Biotechnology for the Environment: Wastewater Treatment and Modeling, Waste Gas Handling illustrates the current technological applications of microorganisms in wastewater treatment and in the control of waste gas emissions. In the first section of the book special emphasis is placed on the use of rigorous mathematical and conceptual models for an in-depth understanding of the complex biology and engineering aspects underlying the operation of modern wastewater treatment installations. The second part addresses waste gas biofiltration, an expanding biotechnological application of microbial metabolism for air quality assurance through processes ranging from the abatement of hazardous volatile pollutants to the elimination of nuisance odors. It will be a valuable reference source for environmental scientists, engineers and decision makers involved in the development, evaluation or implementation of biological treatment systems. For more information on Strategy and Fundamentals, see Focus on Biotechnology, Volume 3A, and for more information on Soil Remediation, see Focus on Biotechnology, Volume 3B.

Legumes include many very important crop plants that contribute very critical protein to the diets of both humans and animals around the world. Their unique ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in association with Rhizobia enriches soil fertility, and establishes the importance of their niche in agriculture. Divided into two volumes, this work presents an up-to-date analysis of in vitro and recombinant DNA technologies for the improvement of grain, forage and tree legumes. Volume 10A examines the current status and future prospects of challenges of the following: in vitro morphogenesis; biotic and abiotic stress tolerance; genomics; nitrogen fixation and utilization; nutritional improvement, and biodiversity of wild and tribal legumes. Volume 10B presents the current state and future prospects of in vitro regeneration and genetic transformation expression and stability of transgenes modification of traits in almost all the important legumes, for example: soybean; peanut; pea; french bean; chick pea; pigeon pea; cowpea; mung bean; black gram; azuki bean; lentil; Lathyrus; lupinus; Lotus spp; Medicago spp; Trifolium spp; Winged bean; Guar; and tree legumes for their improvement.Written by international experts, these volumes will be of great value to researchers, as well as graduate students and all those requiring an advanced level overview of the subject area.

Legumes include many very important crop plants that contribute very critical protein to the diets of both humans and animals around the world. Their unique ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in association with Rhizobia enriches soil fertility, and establishes the importance of their niche in agriculture. Divided into two volumes, this work presents an up-to-date analysis of in vitro and recombinant DNA technologies for the improvement of grain, forage and tree legumes.Volume 10B presents the current state and future prospects of in vitro regeneration and genetic transformation expression and stability of transgenes modification of traits in almost all the important legumes, for example: soybean; peanut; pea; french bean; chick pea; pigeon pea; cowpea; mung bean; black gram; azuki bean; lentil; Lathyrus; lupinus; Lotus spp; Medicago spp; Trifolium spp; Winged bean; Guar; and tree legumes for their improvement.

Cell immobilisation biotechnology is a multidisciplinary area, shown to have an important impact on many scientific subdisciplines - including biomedicine, pharmacology, cosmetics, food and agricultural sciences, beverage production, industrial and municipal waste treatment, analytical applications, biologics production. The "Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology" book is an outcome of the editors' intention to bundle the extensive widespread information on fundamental aspects and applications of immobilisation/encapsulation biotechnology into a comprehensive reference book and to give the reader an overview of the most recent results and developments that have been realised in this domain. "Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology" is divided into two volumes. The first volume is dedicated to fundamental aspects of cell immobilisation while the second volume will deal with diverse applications of this technology. "Fundamentals of Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology", which represents the first volume, consists of 26 chapters that are arranged into 4 parts: (1) "Materials for cell immobilisation/encapsulation", (2) "Methods and technologies for cell immobilisation/encapsulation", (3) "Carrier c

Cell immobilisation biotechnology is a multidisciplinary area, shown to have an important impact on many scientific subdisciplines – including biomedicine, pharmacology, cosmetology, food and agricultural sciences, beverage production, industrial waste treatment, analytical applications, biologics production. "Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology" is an outcome of the editors’ intention to collate the extensive and widespread information on fundamental aspects and applications of immobilisation/encapsulation biotechnology into a comprehensive reference work and to provide an overview of the most recent results and developments in this domain."Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology" is divided into the two book volumes, FOBI 8A and FOBI 8B. The FOBI 8A volume, Fundamentals of Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology, is dedicated to fundamental aspects of cell immobilisation while the present volume, FOBI 8B, Applications of Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology, deals with diverse applications of this technology.

It is my privilege to contribute the foreword for this unique volume entitled: “Plant Tissue Culture Engineering,” edited by S. Dutta Gupta and Y. Ibaraki. While there have been a number of volumes published regarding the basic methods and applications of plant tissue and cell culture technologies, and even considerable attention provided to bioreactor design, relatively little attention has been afforded to the engineering principles that have emerged as critical contributions to the commercial applications of plant biotechnologies. This volume, “Plant Tissue Culture Engineering,” signals a turning point: the recognition that this specialized field of plant science must be integrated with engineering principles in order to develop efficient, cost effective, and large scale applications of these technologies. I am most impressed with the organization of this volume, and the extensive list of chapters contributed by expert authors from around the world who are leading the emergence of this interdisciplinary enterprise. The editors are to be commended for their skilful crafting of this important volume. The first two parts provide the basic information that is relevant to the field as a whole, the following two parts elaborate on these principles, and the last part elaborates on specific technologies or applications.

The first part of Volume 9 will supply the readers with up-to-date information concerning the necessary theoretical background, both concerning removal of heavy metals from the contaminated environment, and removal, detoxication and even degradation of toxic organic contaminants. Until recently phytoremediation has been discussed mostly in monographs dealing with microbiological remediation methods as a separate chapter, just to illustrate an additional possibility of use of biological systems. This book intends to show especially the importance of cooperation between plant and microorganisms, there is practically no phytoremediation without rhizoremediation. Newest approaches based on methods of molecular biology and genetic engineering are described, as well as plant science achievements. The great advantage of this volume is that the reader will find here in addition to a survey of published data also a lot of original findings, thus supplying an up-to-date review of this quickly developing field of science.

The present book entitled “Novel Frontiers in the Production of Compounds for Biomedical Uses” can perhaps be placed in its best perspective by the Shakespearean character in The Tempest who exclaimed" What’s past is prologue”. Indeed, this compilation of some of the outstanding presentations in the field of biomedicine made at th the 9 European Congress on Biotechnology (Brussels, Belgium, July 11-15, 1999) not only reflects the achievements of the recent past, but provides a privileged glimpse of the biotechnology that is emerging in the first decade of the new Millennium. It is becoming increasingly apparent that biotechnology is offering biomedicine novel approaches and solutions to develop a sorely needed new generation of biopharmaceuticals. This is all the more necessary because in recent years, new diseases have emerged with extraordinary lethality in all corners of the globe, while age-related chronic illnesses have filled the gap wherever biomedicine has made successful inroads. The rise of antibiotic resistance also poses major threats to public health. Thus, as disease patterns evolve, the rational development of new drugs is becoming urgent, not only for the clinical outcome of patients, but also in optimising the allocation of scarce health care resources through the use of cost-effective productions methods. It is in response to all these challenges that biotechnology offers new strategies that go beyond the more traditional approaches. By the mid-1990’s, the number of recombinant products approved annually for therapeutic use reached double digits. With the advent of the genomics revolution.

Animal biotechnology is a broad umbrella encompassing the polarities of fundamental and applied research including molecular modelling, molecular and quantitative genetics, gene manipulation, development of diagnostics and vaccines and manipulation of tissue or digestion metabolism by growth promoters. Although animal biotechnology in the broadest sense is not new, what is new is the level of complexity and precision involved in scientists' current ability to manipulate living organisms. This new book sets out to show that the important ideas in animal biotechnology are exciting and relevant to everyday experience. It represents an important update of the literature for research workers, lecturers, and advisers in animal science, but is also a core text for advanced undergraduate courses in animal science and biotechnology. It will be an essential acquisition for librarians in agriculture and veterinary science.

This book illustrates the major trends in applied microbiology research with immediate or potential industrial applications. The papers proposed reflect the diversity of the application fields. New microbial developments have been done as well in the food and health sectors than in the environmental technology or in the fine chemical production. All the microbial genera are involved : yeast, fungi and bacteria. The development of biotechnology in parallel with the industrial microbiology has enabled the application of microbial diversity to our socio-economical world. The remarkable properties of microbes, inherent in their genetic and enzymatic material, allow a wide range of applications that can improve our every day life. Recent studies for elucidating the molecular basis of the physiological processes in micro-organisms are essential to improve and to control the metabolic pathways to overproduce metabolites or enzymes of industrial interest. The genetic engineering is of course one of the disciplines offering new horizons for the « fantastic microbial factory » . Studies of the culture parameter incidence on the physiology and the morphology are essential to control the response of the micro-organisms before its successful exploitation at the industrial scale. For this purpose, fundamental viewpoints are necessary. Development of novel approaches to characterise micro-organisms would also facilitate the understanding of the inherent metabolic diversity of the microbial world, in terms of adaptation to a wide range of biotopes and establishment of microbial consortia.

Early integration is the key to success in industrial biotechnology. This is as true when a selected wild-type organism is put to work as when an organism is engineered for a purpose. The present volume Engineering and Manufacturing for Biotechnology took advantage of the 9th European Congress on Biotechnology (Brussels, Belgium, July 11-15, 1999): in the topics handled and in the expertise of the contributors, the engineering science symposia of this congress offered just what was needed to cover the important topic of integration of process engineering and biological research. The editors have solicited a number of outstanding contributions to illustrate the intimate interaction between productive organisms and the numerous processing steps running from the initial inoculation to the packaged product. Upstream processing of the feed streams, selection of medium components, product harvesting, downstream processing, and product conditioning are just a few major steps. Each step imposes a number of important choices. Every choice is to be balanced against time to market, profitability, safety, and ecology.

At the end of the 20th century, a tremendous progress was made in biotechnology in its widest sense. This progress was largely possible as a result of joint efforts of top academic researchers in both pure fundamental sciences and applied research. The surplus value of such interdisciplinary approaches was clearly highlighted during the 9th European Congress on Biotechnology that was held in Brussels, Belgium (11-15 July, 1999). The present volume in the ‘Focus on Biotechnology’ series, entiteld ‘Physics and Chemistry Basis for Biotechnology’ contains selected presentations from this meeting, A collection of experts has made serious efforts to present some of the latest developments in various scientific fields and to unveil prospective evolutions on the threshold of the new millenium. In all contributions the emphasis is on emerging new areas of research in which physicochemical principles form the foundation. In reading the different chapters, it appears that more than ever significant advances in biotechnology very often depend on breakthroughs in the biotechnology itself (e.g.

At the dawn of the 21st century, biotechnology is emerging as a key enabling technology for sustainable environmental protection and stewardship. Biotechnology for the Environment: Soil Remediation offers a state-of-the-art account of environmental biotechnology both in emerging and in more mature technological applications of soil remediation and cleanup of contaminated sites. Harnessing the potential of microorganisms and plants as eco-efficient and robust cleanup agents in a variety of practical situations is not only possible but is becoming widespread practice. Chapters are featured on current experience and trends in bioremediation of contaminated soil, life cycle assessment software tools for remediation planning, ex situ cleanup technologies using slurry reactors, implementation of anaerobic and aerobic in situ processes including monitored natural attenuation, complementary technologies on pesticide immobilisation in soil or humification of nitroaromatics, and, finally, phytoremediation of recalcitrant organic compounds and heavy metals. For more information on Strategy and Fundamentals, see Focus on Biotechnology Volume 3A, and for more information on Waste Water and Waste Gas Handling, see Focus on Biotechnology Volume 3C.

At the dawn of the 21st century, biotechnology is emerging as a key enabling technology for sustainable environmental protection and stewardship. Biotechnology for the Environment: Wastewater Treatment and Modeling, Waste Gas Handling illustrates the current technological applications of microorganisms in wastewater treatment and in the control of waste gas emissions. In the first section of the book special emphasis is placed on the use of rigorous mathematical and conceptual models for an in-depth understanding of the complex biology and engineering aspects underlying the operation of modern wastewater treatment installations. The second part addresses waste gas biofiltration, an expanding biotechnological application of microbial metabolism for air quality assurance through processes ranging from the abatement of hazardous volatile pollutants to the elimination of nuisance odors. It will be a valuable reference source for environmental scientists, engineers and decision makers involved in the development, evaluation or implementation of biological treatment systems. For more information on Strategy and Fundamentals, see Focus on Biotechnology, Volume 3A, and for more information on Soil Remediation, see Focus on Biotechnology, Volume 3B.

Legumes include many very important crop plants that contribute critical protein to the diets of many around the world. Many important forages and green manure crops are legumes. Legumes are also large contributors to the vegetable oil and animal feed protein sectors. One characteristic of legumes that could become even more important as world energy sources decline and nitrogen fertilizer prices increase is nitrogen fixation, something few other plants can do. Thus legumes have a unique and important niche in agriculture. While some of the small seeded forage legumes have been relatively easy to work with in tissue culture as far as culture initiation, plant regeneration and transformation are concerned, most large seeded legumes, like soybean, have been recalcitrant. Today, however, many laboratories are inserting genes into soybean and producing unique plants for both commercial and scientific uses. These advancements have taken a large amount of research effort and still require time and labour.

Legumes include many very important crop plants that contribute very critical protein to the diets of both humans and animals around the world. Their unique ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in association with Rhizobia enriches soil fertility, and establishes the importance of their niche in agriculture. Divided into two volumes, this work presents an up-to-date analysis of in vitro and recombinant DNA technologies for the improvement of grain, forage and tree legumes.Volume 10B presents the current state and future prospects of in vitro regeneration and genetic transformation expression and stability of transgenes modification of traits in almost all the important legumes, for example: soybean; peanut; pea; french bean; chick pea; pigeon pea; cowpea; mung bean; black gram; azuki bean; lentil; Lathyrus; lupinus; Lotus spp; Medicago spp; Trifolium spp; Winged bean; Guar; and tree legumes for their improvement.

Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology Biotechnology is divided into two volumes. The first volume is dedicated to fundamental aspects of cell immobilisation while the second volume deals with the diverse applications of this technology. The first volume, Fundamentals of Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology, comprises 26 chapters arranged into four parts: Materials for cell immobilisation/encapsulation, Methods and technologies for cell immobilisation/encapsulation, Carrier characterisation and bioreactor design, and Physiology of immobilised cells: techniques and mathematical modelling.

Cell immobilisation biotechnology is a multidisciplinary area, shown to have an important impact on many scientific subdisciplines -- including biomedicine, pharmacology, cosmetology, food and agricultural sciences, beverage production, industrial waste treatment, analytical applications, biologics production. "Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology" is an outcome of the editors' intention to collate the extensive and widespread information on fundamental aspects and applications of immobilisation/encapsulation biotechnology into a comprehensive reference work and to provide an overview of the most recent results and developments in this domain. "Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology" is divided into the two book volumes, FOBI 8A and FOBI 8B. The FOBI 8A volume, Fundamentals of Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology, is dedicated to fundamental aspects of cell immobilisation while the present volume, FOBI 8B, Applications of Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology, deals with diverse applications of this technology.

It is my privilege to contribute the foreword for this unique volume entitled: “Plant Tissue Culture Engineering,” edited by S. Dutta Gupta and Y. Ibaraki. While there have been a number of volumes published regarding the basic methods and applications of plant tissue and cell culture technologies, and even considerable attention provided to bioreactor design, relatively little attention has been afforded to the engineering principles that have emerged as critical contributions to the commercial applications of plant biotechnologies. This volume, “Plant Tissue Culture Engineering,” signals a turning point: the recognition that this specialized field of plant science must be integrated with engineering principles in order to develop efficient, cost effective, and large scale applications of these technologies. I am most impressed with the organization of this volume, and the extensive list of chapters contributed by expert authors from around the world who are leading the emergence of this interdisciplinary enterprise. The editors are to be commended for their skilful crafting of this important volume. The first two parts provide the basic information that is relevant to the field as a whole, the following two parts elaborate on these principles, and the last part elaborates on specific technologies or applications.

The first part of Volume 9 will supply the readers with up-to-date information concerning the necessary theoretical background, both concerning removal of heavy metals from the contaminated environment, and removal, detoxication and even degradation of toxic organic contaminants. Until recently phytoremediation has been discussed mostly in monographs dealing with microbiological remediation methods as a separate chapter, just to illustrate an additional possibility of use of biological systems. This book intends to show especially the importance of cooperation between plant and microorganisms, there is practically no phytoremediation without rhizoremediation. Newest approaches based on methods of molecular biology and genetic engineering are described, as well as plant science achievements. The great advantage of this volume is that the reader will find here in addition to a survey of published data also a lot of original findings, thus supplying an up-to-date review of this quickly developing field of science.