Expanding Horizon of Cyanobacterial Biology (Developments in Microbiology) - Softcover

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Dr. Prashant Kumar Singh is currently working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, Pachhunga University College, Mizoram University, Aizawl, Mizoram. He completed his Ph.D. degree from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. In his 14 years of research carrier, he has published more than 50 articles and book chapters and one book related to cyanobacteria and plant molecular biology. Dr. Singh also has exposure to various national and international institutes. Dr. Singh is also awarded by the Young Scientist Award and lifetime members of various scientific societies as well as reviewer of various peer reviewed journals.

María F. Fillat earned the Ph.D. degree in Sciences (University of Zaragoza, Spain) in 1988. She completed her instruction as PhD student at the University of Konstanz (Germany) and Emory University (GA, USA) studying the role of flavoproteins flavodoxin and ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase in photosynthetic electron transport and nitrogen fixation in cyanobacteria. From 1989 to 1991, Dr. Fillat worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Utrecht (The Netherlands) where she studied several aspects of molecular genetics in cyanobacteria. Since 2000, Dr. Fillat´s work is mainly focused in the functional study of FUR (ferric uptake regulation) proteins in cyanobacteria. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 1999 and Professor in 2012.

Dr. Viji Sitther serves as a professor of biology at Morgan State University, USA. Her research specializes on the genetic manipulation of cyanobacteria and use of nanotechnological approaches for sustainable energy applications. She holds M.Phil., Ph.D. degrees in the biological sciences, and has more than 20 years of research experience. Her efforts to genetically engineer genes for salt tolerance and lipid production, and the use of plasmon-resonant nanomaterial for improved light capture have led to patents, and a start-up company, “HaloCyTech” reliant on the technology has been formed.

Dr. Ajay Kumar is currently working as an assistant professor at Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Noida, India. Dr. Kumar recently completed his tenure as a visiting scientist from Agriculture Research Organization, Volcani Center, Israel. He has published more than 175 research, review articles, and book chapters in international and national journals. He serves as an associate editor for Frontiers in Microbiology and as guest editor for various journals such as Plants, Microorganisms, and Sustainability. Dr. Kumar has also edited more than 32 books with the leading publishers such as Elsevier, Springer, and Wiley. Dr. Kumar has wide area of research experience, especially in the field of plant-microbe Interactions, microbial biocontrol, Postharvest management of fruits, microbial endophytes related to medicinal plants and cyanobacteria-pesticides interactions.

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Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous microbes and, undoubtedly, an important organism in terms of carbon as well as nitrogen fixation. However, the researches on these organisms limited in terms of their diversity and distribution across the globe. Nevertheless, fixation of atmospheric nitrogen and carbon di-oxide, cyanobacteria serve as a potential source for the production of bioactive compounds, nanoparticles as well as removal of environmental contaminants. Taking resource to the application potentials of cyanobacteria, cyanobacterial species could be exploited for the human welfare. Several cyanobacterial species thus have been exploited to enhance soil fertility, production of nanoparticles, bioactive compounds, industrially important chemicals, antifouling agents, and bioremediation processes. Expanding Horizon of Cyanobacterial Biology has been designed to discuss the different aspects of cyanobacteria cyanobacterial application and a better understanding of cyanobacterial metabolism. Chapters deal with the different aspects of cyanobacteria applications and explore cyanobacterial metabolism to exploit for the industrial applications. Expanding Horizon of Cyanobacterial Biology is divided in to four parts such as cyanobacterial diversity, cyanobacterial bioactive compounds, cyanobacteria mediated bioremediation, cyanobacterial application for the production of nanoparticles.

Cyanobacterial diversity provides background knowledge for researchers concerned with cyanobacterial diversity and characterization of different assemblages such cyanolichens, cyanobacterial endophytes, etc., with emphasis on ecological, morphological and physiological aspects. Furthermore, this section also includes how the environmental factors influence the cyanobacterial diversity as well as their abundance.

The second part mainly deals with the bioactive compounds and their applications. An increasing attention has been paid by scientists across the globe for development of culturing environment for algae and cyanobacteria to produce useful bioactive compounds and metabolites. Cyanobacterial metabolism has been established as a useful resource to produce antioxidants, UV-screens, production polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, and medically valuable compounds such as antibiotics and food supplements for industrial applications. This section focuses on the cyanobacterial metabolomics and the application of useful metabolites. The third part deals with the exploitation of cyanobacteria and their mats for the bioremediation purpose. Expanding Horizon of Cyanobacterial Biology finalizes with an insight in cyanobacterial nanotechnology and its application in industry and allied sectors.