This book is a one-stop reference resource, presenting recent research in various emerging areas of microbiology, including microbial biotechnology, microbes in health, microbial interactions, agricultural microbiology and computational approaches. Recent discoveries in microbiology have created a great deal of interest among researchers around the globe, and as as such the book discusses a number of important research topics,such as microbial enzymes and nanoparticles, bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates, biosurfactant aided bioprocessing, autophagy and microbial pathogenesis, multidrug resistant bacteria, probiotics, rhizosphere, metal tolerant bacteria, plant- beneficial environmental bacteria and therapeutic applications of fungal chondroitinase.

It serves as a valuble resource for masters, doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in life sciences, as well as scientists involved in various interdisciplinary research areas. It also provides useful material for higher-level graduate courses in microbiology and biotechnology.

Prof. Pratyoosh Shukla, PhD, is a Professor and Head of the Department of Microbiology at the Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, India. His primary research interests are in Enzyme Technology, Microbial Biotechnology and Protein Bioinformatics. He completed his PhD in the field of Microbiology and Fungal Biotechnology at the APS, University Rewa, India. Following his PhD, he pursued his postdoctoral studies at the Department of Biotechnology& Food Technology, Durban University of Technology, South Africa. He has 15 years of research and 17 years of teaching experience. He has produced 73 scientific publications, and has authored or edited 6 books. He also has filed a patent on Novel -1, 4-endoxylanase from Thermomyces lanuginosus SS-8 and the mode of action thereof.

He is a life member of a number of academic bodies, including the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), India Society for Technical Education (ISTE), Mycological Society of India (MSI), Asian Federation of Biotechnology (AFoB), American Society for Microbiology (ASM), European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) etc. He also holds the roles of Associate Editor, BMC Microbiology; Editor, Indian Journal of Microbiology (Springer); Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Microbiology, Internet Scientific Publishers, USA (2007-2009); Reviewer and Member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Applied Sciences in Environmental Sanitation, ITS, Indonesia, etc. He is currently the General Secretary of the Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI) (since 2014). He has also been presented with a number of academic awards, such as the ASM-IUSSTF Indo-US Professorship Award in Microbiology by the American Society of Microbiology (2014); AMI Alembic Award in industrial microbiology, and the Fast Track Young Scientist by DST, Govt. of India (2012). He was also selected as a Scientist / Project Investigator and participated in the Southern Ocean Antarctica Expedition (Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India) (January-March, 2011).

Section 1: Microbial Biotechnology.- 1.Immobilization ofAspergillus oryzae -galactosidase on silica nanoparticles: characterization and application.- 2. Biosynthesis of Protease byAspergillus Terreus NCFT 4269.10 using Chickling Vetch Peels.- 3. Production of polyhydroxybutyrate (biopolymer) by Bacillus species isolated from municipal waste.- 4. Bacterial Polyhydroxyalkanoates - Recent trends in production and applications.- 5. An overview of surfactant aided bioprocessing: applications and future perspectives.- Section 2: Microbes in health.- 6. Autophagy and microbial pathogenesis: An interactive overview.- 7.  Potentiality ofCymbopogon flexuosus oil as natural antifungal against azole-resistant strains of Candida.- 8.    Prevalence of Multidrug Resistant Bacteria in River Cauvery and Computational Virtual Screening for Natural Inhibitors against MDR Genes.- 9. Probiotics for human health: Current Progress and Applications.- Section 3: Microbial Interactions.-10.Functional characterization of phosphate solubilizing bacteria from coastal rice soils of Odisha.- 11. Tolerance of filamentous fungi and bacteria in soil contaminated with trace metals.- 12. Transformation, purification and quantification of soy isoflavone fromLactobacillus sp., andBifidobacterium sp..- 13. Processing of pearl millet to prepare ready to eat (rte) extruded healthy snacks.- 14.  Studies on screening, isolation and optimization of fungal chondroitinase.- 15. Citricoccus zhacaiensis - A novel osmotolerant plant growth promoting actinobacterium.- Section 4: Computational approaches in microbiology.- 16. In-silico design and antibody response to peptide sequences from protective antigen and lethal factor toxins ofBacillus anthracis.- 17. Microbial enzyme engineering: applications and perspectives.