Bacterial Polysaccharides: Current Innovations and Future Trends

Bacterial polysaccharides represent a diverse range of macromolecules that include peptidoglycan, lipopolysaccharides, capsules, and exopolysaccharides - compounds whose functions range from structural cell-wall components (e.g. peptidoglycan) - and important virulence factors (e.g. Poly-N-acetylglucosamine in S. aureus) to permitting the bacterium to survive in harsh environments (e.g. Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the human lung). Polysaccharide biosynthesis is a tightly-regulated, energy-intensive process. Understanding the subtle interplay between the regulation and energy conservation, the polymer modification and synthesis, and the external ecological functions is a huge area of research. The potential benefits are enormous and should enable, for example, the development of novel antibacterial strategies (e.g. new antibiotics and vaccines) and the commercial exploitation to develop novel applications. In this timely book, experienced and authoritative experts review the most important innovations in the research and biotechnological applications of bacterial polysaccharides. The book takes an interdisciplinary view that examines this fascinating subject area in detail from molecular biology, genome-, transcriptome-, and proteome-wide perspectives, and looks at the ecological aspects and systems biology approaches. It provides a sound basis for future research directions, including high efficiency applications of bacterial polysaccharides in medicine, the food industry, and renewable energy production. Topics include: peptidoglycan, lipopolysaccharide, arabinogalactan, capsule gene expression in Escherichia coli, immune response to polysaccharides, polysaccharides from periodontopathic bacteria, role in dental plaque, biofilms, levan, amylovoran, and much more.