The Prokaryotes is a comprehensive multi-authored peer reviewed reference work on Bacteria
and Archaea. This fourth edition of The Prokaryotes is organized to cover all taxonomic
diversity using the family level to delineate chapters. Different from other resources this
new Springer product includes not only taxonomy but also prokaryotic biology and technology of
taxa in a broad context. Technological aspects highlight the usefulness of prokaryotes in
processes and products including biocontrol agents and as genetics tools. The content of the
expanded fourth edition is divided into two parts: Part 1 contains review chapters dealing with
the most important general concepts in molecular applied and general prokaryote biology Part
2 describes the known properties of specific taxonomic groups. Two completely new sections have
been added to Part 1: bacterial communities and human bacteriology. The bacterial communities
section reflects the growing realization that studies on pure cultures of bacteria have led to
an incomplete picture of the microbial world for two fundamental reasons: the vast majority of
bacteria in soil water and associated with biological tissues are currently not culturable
and that an understanding of microbial ecology requires knowledge on how different bacterial
species interact with each other in their natural environment. The new section on human
microbiology deals with bacteria associated with healthy humans and bacterial pathogenesis.
Each of the major human diseases caused by bacteria is reviewed from identifying the pathogens
by classical clinical and non-culturing techniques to the biochemical mechanisms of the disease
process. The 4th edition of The Prokaryotes is the most complete resource on the biology of
prokaryotes.
