Lactobacillus Molecular Biology

Lactobacillus is a genus of Gram-positive facultative anaerobic or microaerophilic bacteria. In humans they are symbiotic and are found in the gut flora. Lactobacillus species are used for the production of yogurt, cheese, sauerkraut, pickles, beer, wine, cider, kimchi, chocolate and other fermented foods, as well as animal feeds such as silage. In recent years much interest has been shown in the use of lactobacilli as probiotic organisms and their potential for disease prevention in humans and animals. This major new work focuses on recent research on the molecular biology and genomics of Lactobacillus. Written by an international team of scientists the volume is an essential reference for all dairy technologists, microbiologists and biotechnologists in the academic and industrial sectors. Topics covered include phylogenetics, taxonomy, comparative genomics, functional genomics, the intestinal microflora, surface proteins, stress responses, interaction with the immune system, probioti