This book will be an invaluable resource to every serious practitioner of microbiology in academia, industry, and government, and in clinical laboratories for traditional methods of microbiology as well as commonly used modern molecular microbiological methods. New chapters cover important topics such as molecular genetics of archaea; molecular genetic manipulations using phages as tools; state-of-the-art technology used in studying complex, naturally occurring microbial communities; metabolism of natural polymers including cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin; DNA microarray technology; physiology, metabolism, molecular genetic approaches to the study of filamentous fungi, and general and molecular approaches for studying microbial symbioses. Each section details reliable methods applicable to basic studies. Additionally, chapters present background principles to facilitate understanding of the how and why of a given method, followed by a step-by-step description of the procedure. Common problems, precautions, and pitfalls of the methods are also presented as well as commercial sources for equipment and materials.Content:Front Matter Preface Table of ContentsSection 1. Morphology and Ultrastructure Introduction to Morphology and Ultrastructure1. Light Microscopy2. Sampling and Staining for Light Microscopy3. Laser Scanning Microscopy4. Electron Microscopy5. Computational Image Analysis and Reconstruction from Transmission Electron Micrographs6. Atomic Force Microscopy7. Cell Fractionation8. Antigen-Antibody ReactionsSection 2. GrowthIntroduction to Growth9. Growth Measurement10. Nutrition and Media11. Enrichment and Isolation12. Culture Techniques13. Energetics, Stoichiometry, and Kinetics of Microbial Growth14. Physicochemical Factors in Growth15. Phenotypic Characterization and the Principles of Comparative Systematics16. General Methods to Investigate Microbial SymbiosesSection 3. Metabolism Introduction to Metabolism17. Physical Analysis and Purification Methods18. Chemical Analysis19. Enzymatic Activity20. Permeability and Transport21. Bacterial Respiration22. Carbohydrate Fermentations23. Metabolism of Aromatic Compounds24. Cellulases, Hemicellulases, and Pectinases25. Lignin and Lignin-Modifying EnzymesSection 4. Molecular Genetics Introduction to Molecular Genetics26. Similarity Analysis of DNAs27. Nucleic Acid Analysis28. Measuring Spontaneous Mutation Rates29. Transposon Mutagenesis30. Plasmids31. Gene Transfer in Gram-Negative Bacteria32. Genetic Exchange in Gram-Positive Bacteria33. Genetics of Archaea34. Genetic Manipulations Using PhagesSection 5. Community and Genomic AnalysisIntroduction to Community and Genomic Analysis35. Characterization of Bacterial Genome Sequences by Similarity Searching36. Reconstructing and Interpreting Evolutionary Relationships37. Microbial Nucleotide Fingerprints in Nature38. Construction of BAC and Fosmid Libraries from Naturally Occurring Microbial Populations39. Single Cell Identification by Fluorescence in situ Hybridization40. Measurement of rRNA Abundance by Hybridization with Oligodeoxynucleotide Probes41. Analysis of Microbial Communities with Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis and Terminal Restriction Fragment Length PolymorphismSection 6. MycologyIntroduction to Mycology42. Methods for Studying Terrestrial Fungal Ecology and Diversity43. Physiology Metabolism and Molecular Aspects of Filamentous Fungi44. Microbiological and Genetic Methods for Filamentous Fungi45. Principles and Practice of DNA Microarray TechnologyAppendicesIndex Color Plate