Description
Environmental microbiology was born at the dawn of the “environmental era” at the beginning of the 1970s. Thirty years of maturation have led to an exciting and vibrant field that has attracted countless numbers of productive and enthusiastic scientists and students at universities, research centers and government agencies around the world. The wealth of environmental microbiology literature has made it imperative to make a pause at this time and summarize our knowledge in an encyclopedia format. For the sake of organization, we have identified 14 areas within environmental microbiology. These areas are discussed in more details in the introductory chapter.
The rising tide of molecular biology has led to the use and adaptation of modern molecular techniques along with sophisticated equipment to the study of microorganisms in their environments, especially extreme environments. The study of extremophiles has increased our knowledge on the limits and origin of life on our planet.
Over 420 authors from 25 countries contributed 320 entries to this encyclopedia. We have witnessed a small reduction in the planned coverage of topics, due to the inability of some authors to deliver their manuscripts. Despite this slight setback, some on-board authors have courageously agreed to “plug the holes” by expanding their own contribution to cover a missing topic or by authoring another entry. In addition to the print version, an expanded version of the encyclopedia will be available in the near future on-line to cover those missing topics. Cross-reference titles (orphan entries) or key words have been included in the encyclopedia to help readers retrieve a given topic, and an author index is also provided.
The Encyclopedia of Environmental Microbiology will serve as a quick reference work to be used by professors, undergraduate and graduate students, researchers in the public and private sectors, research organizations, environmental and patent lawyers, and government officials for a quick introduction to a given topic in this vast microbiology field.
The preparation and completion of this encyclopedia is a complex undertaking that involved the participation and cooperation of several individuals. The authors are the “soldiers” without whom this work would not have been possible. They contributed their expertise unselfishly despite their busy schedules. I am thankful and grateful to all of them for sharing their knowledge with anybody interested in this fascinating field. I am indebted to my colleagues and co-editors on the editorial board who have patiently and expertly helped me in orchestrating this major endeavor. They have helped tremendously in selecting suitable authors and in participating in the review of the manuscripts. Their names and affiliation appear on a separate list in this encyclopedia. I am grateful to my colleagues and my students at the Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences for their support and encouragement.
The quality of manuscripts is greatly enhanced by the participation of expert reviewers. I am indebted to the hundreds of reviewers who offered many useful suggestions for improving the manuscripts. Their names do not appear in this encyclopedia because many of them expressed the desire to remain anonymous. Thank you for a job well done.
This encyclopedia involved the participation and cooperation of several individuals at John Wiley and Sons. I would like to thank the team at the Encyclopedia Department who has worked tirelessly to see the successful completion of this work. I thank Glenn Collins who recruited me and convinced me that the job of editor-in-chief of the encyclopedia was a worthwhile endeavor. I extend special thanks to Laurie Claret, the assistant managing editor, for her expert assistance as she undertook this job without missing a beat, following the departure of Glenn Collins. I thank Surlan Murrel, editorial assistant, for her patience and, along with Laurie, for shielding me from the massive amount of correspondence and tedious record keeping. I thank them for graciously adapting to my academic lifestyle which sometimes consists of reviewing manuscripts in the Luxembourg Garden and sidewalk cafes in Paris.
I am grateful to Nancy, Julie and Natalie, and all my family and friends, for their love, good wishes, moral support, and patience with me.
GABRIEL BITTON
Gainesville, Florida
October 2001