Environmental Microbiology: A Laboratory Manual - Softcover

This is a good, thorough textbook for environmental microbiologists and students. ...the scope covered by this book is very impressive...the case studies are recent and relevent to each chapter...its contents cover a wide range of topics that can be understood easily by someone who is not an expert on the subject. -J.J. Germida for SOIL SCIENCE (June 2002) ...the preface itself is a model of clarity explaining what the manual contains and how it should be used. --H. Humphreys in JOURNAL OF MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY

Environmental Microbiology: A Laboratory Manual is designed to meet the diverse requirements of upper division and graduate-level laboratory sessions in environmental microbiology. The experiments introduce students to the activities of various organisms and the analyses used to study them. The book is organized into three thematic sections: Soil Microbiology, Water Microbiology, and Environmental Biotechnology. The first section includes experiments on soil as a habitat for microorganisms, and introduces the main types of soil microorganisms, how they interact with the soil, and the techniques used in their analysis. Experiments in the second section cover assays of microbial pathogens -- bacteria, viruses, and protozoan parasites -- used in food and water quality control as well as an exercise in applied bioremediation of contaminants in water. The final section on biotechnology includes applications of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of bacteria and the use of enrichment cultures and a computer-based, physiological test bank to isolate and identify a bacterium useful in bioremediation. Designed for maximum versatility and ease of use for both the student and instructor, each experiment is self-contained and includes theoretical, practical, and pedagogical material.