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.
Review quote:
"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
Table of contents:
Preface.
Soil Microbiology:
Moisture Content Determination.
Contact Slide Assay.
Filamentous Fungi.
Bacteria and Actinomycetes.
Algae: Enumerated by MPN.
Oxidation of Sulfur in Soil.
Dehydrogenase Activity of Soils.
Nitrification and Denitrification.
Water Microbiology:
Bacteriological Examination of Water: The Coliform MPN Test.
Membrane Filter Technique.
Detection of Bacteriophages.
Assimilable Organic Carbon.
New Methods for the Detection of Coliforms and Fecal Coliforms.
Dry Medium for the Detection of Coliforms in Water, Food, and on Surfaces.
Detection of Enteric Viruses in Water.
Detection of Waterborne Parasites.
Biodegradation of Phenol Compounds.
Environmental Biotechnology:
Molecular Detection of Microbial Pathogens Using Polymerase Chain Reaction.
Arbitrarily Primed PCR.
Enrichment Culture and BIOLOG.
Appendices:
Significant Figures.
Soil pH Determination.
Instrumental Molecular Absorbtion Spectrophotometry and Turbidimetry.
Glossary.
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.
Review quote:
"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
Table of contents:
Preface.
Soil Microbiology:
Moisture Content Determination.
Contact Slide Assay.
Filamentous Fungi.
Bacteria and Actinomycetes.
Algae: Enumerated by MPN.
Oxidation of Sulfur in Soil.
Dehydrogenase Activity of Soils.
Nitrification and Denitrification.
Water Microbiology:
Bacteriological Examination of Water: The Coliform MPN Test.
Membrane Filter Technique.
Detection of Bacteriophages.
Assimilable Organic Carbon.
New Methods for the Detection of Coliforms and Fecal Coliforms.
Dry Medium for the Detection of Coliforms in Water, Food, and on Surfaces.
Detection of Enteric Viruses in Water.
Detection of Waterborne Parasites.
Biodegradation of Phenol Compounds.
Environmental Biotechnology:
Molecular Detection of Microbial Pathogens Using Polymerase Chain Reaction.
Arbitrarily Primed PCR.
Enrichment Culture and BIOLOG.
Appendices:
Significant Figures.
Soil pH Determination.
Instrumental Molecular Absorbtion Spectrophotometry and Turbidimetry.
Glossary.