Microbiology Today November 1997

F
uorterly
VOLUME24 PART4
N O V E M B EIR
997
FOR
PUBLISHED
BYTHISO(IETY
GENERAL
MITROBIOLOGY
-l'tttrlrt,
I l . \ \ ' l : I j l : l : \ I \ \ ' ( ) \ 1 . \ l () l i I ) l : \ I : l ( ) 1 , \ t t , rt s i n t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n
systemsat SGM HQ.A new and expandedtelephonesystemallows
each member of staff to have his or her own direct dial in (DDI)
number and departmentalnumbershaveall changed.Severalof the
DDI numbers now have answerphonefacilitiesfor out-of-hours and
theseare indicatedby'*1 In addition, individual and departmental
Email numbers have been assignedand theseare also included in
the list below.
DDI TelephoneNumbers
+ 4 4 ( 0 ) r1 89 8 8+
EmailAddresses
+ @socgenmicrobiol.org.uk
admi n
Main Switchboard
Main Fax
ExecutiveSecretary
PA to Executive Secretary
Deputy ExecutiveSecretary
FinanceManager
Journal Sales
Membership
Meetings
Careers
Grants
SystemsManager
FEMS
I 800*
5656
I 8t 2 *
I S OI
| 809*
I gt 0 *
1803x
or 1800x
| 905*
1 8 2|
1 8 2|
t8l3+
| 823
r.fraser
m.shrank
j.hurst
r.noble
jsales
members
meetings
careers
grants
d.mcgarva
[email protected]
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DTP
I 809*
| 802
t 8t 9
quarterly
quarterly
i.atherton
Main number
Managing Editor
Fax
| 804*
t8il
| 834
micro
c.si ncl ai r
Main number
Managing Editor
Fax
| 833x
| 808
| 834
isv
Managing Editor
Fax
r8l5
| 834
ijsb
Asbury,
Atherton,
Brimelow,
Clegg,
Fraser,
Harwood,
Hurst,
I 825
t8l9
| 808
t 8t 8
l 8t 2 *
| 805*
| 809x
| 800
m.asbury
i.atherton
j.brimelow
d.clegg
r.fraser
m.harwood
j .hurst
r 8r 4
a.jones
d.mcgarva
j.meekings
r.noble
a.Parte
c.pickett
k.rayner
fames,
fones,
McGarva,
Meekings,
Noble,
Parte,
Pickett,
Rayner,
Rowland,
Rowlands,
Scourfield,
Shrank,
Sinclair,
Thompson,
Waite,
Westgate,
Westwell,
Winterbottom,
Marianne
Ian
John
Deborah
Ron
Mary
Janet
Diane
Adrienne
Duncan
Ianice
Richard
Aidan
Christine
Kathleen
Chris
ludith
Melanie
Marie
Chris
Iane
Kendra
Susan
Iane
Audrey
r 8r 4
l8l3x
I 802
l8l0x
t 8t 5
I 800*
1824
t 8t 7
| 823
| 826
t 8 0|
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r820
| 804*
t827
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j.brimelow
j.rowlands
m.scourfield
m.shrank
c.sinclair
j.thompson
k.waite
s.westgate
j.westwell
a.winterbottom
uorterly
Volume 24
Part4.November L997
Articles
The Impact of Biodiversity and Chemical
Diversity on Drug Discovery
l2l
and S.W Elson
I.M. Sdnchez-Puelles
AVery Microbial ChristmasTo You All!
Liz Sockett
Regular
Features
Other ltems
124
Editorial
Where DoesMicrobiotogyStand?
118
SocietyNews:
luly CouncilMeeting
Notices
Newsof Members
Group CommitteeElections1997
Grants6.,\wards
MicrobiologyNews
MarlboroughHouseNews
128
128
l2g
128
129
l3l
131
Oh Dearing!
Chris Thurston
New UK ScienceMinister Thlksabout
Government SciencePolicv
Ron Fraser
120
International Development Fund Report 126
AlanWhealsand RosaneFreitasSchwan
DevelopmentsIn TeachingFund Reports 136
Trudy Hartford
David R. Greaves
New Membersof Council 1997
Subscription
Information
r32
r33
SGM Meeting
134
Gradline
l3s
|ournal News
t37
News from the Groups
140
Book Reviews
146
Diarv
152
Lettersto the Editor
t23
Irish Branch SilverJubilee
1 27
120
Council 1997198
Inside Back Cover
Front cover:What is the connectionbetween
microbiologyand Christmastrees?Find out on
p. 124.Photo courtesyof Image Bank.
Editor: SGM PublicationsOfficer,Dr DaveMcL. Roberts,Departmentof Zoology,
The Natural HistoryMuseum, Cromwell Road,London SW7 5BD
(Tel.01719388790;Fax0171938 8754;[email protected]).
SGM Headquarters:Marlborough House,BasingstokeRoad,SpencersWood,
ReadingRG7 IAE (Tel.0118988 1800;Fax01189885656;
Email [email protected]).
COPY DATES
Lastdatesfor receiptof copyat Marlborough
Houseare:
SGMWeb site: http://www.socgenmicrobiol.org.uk
Issue
Managing Editor: JanetHurst
February
May
Production Editor: Ian Atherton
Production Assistantand Book ReviewsManager:JaniceMeekings
Contributions: Theseare alwayswelcomeand shouldbe addressedto the Editor
(c/o SGM Headquarters).
@1997The Society for General Microbiology
ISSN:0142-7547
GeneralCopy
Advertisements
(camera-ready
copy)
5 December
12lantary
6 March
14April
- all enquiriesshouldbesent
Advertisements
to Ina Cocks,NI4/H SalesLtd, CedarHouse,
CedarLane,Frimley,SurreyGU16 5HY
(Tel.01276685111;
Fax01276685011).
SpecialMailings - all enquiriesshouldbesent
to JaniceMeekings,SGM Headquarters
(TeL.0118
988 1802;Fax01189885656;
Emailj. meekings@
socgenmicrobiol.
org.uk).
il8
November | 997
SGMQUARTERLY
WUEREDons
MIcRoBIoLocY Sr,q.uo?
n the lastissueI oosedthe ouestionSowhot
hopingto stimulatedebate
rsmrcrobtologyZ
a reviewof the Bestof
and assistin compiling
(seethe Yay Quortedy),ln
a
British
Microbiology
my attentionwas drawnto
gratifying
response,
bool<(Ltfeot SmollScole:
DavidB. Dusenbery's
American
of Microbes,
Scientiflc
the Behovrour
microbesas
Library,1996)whichclassifies
withouta circulatory
system.This
organisms
helpful,
is not in itselfparticularly
but
deflnition
muchmore importantlyDusenberygroupsthe
livingworld intothingsdominatedby inertia
(which
andthingsdominatedby viscosity
a circulatory
system,
beingof
normallylacl<
in
is a usefuldistinction
because
smallsize),This
osn e i th e rs i d eo f
. " ' bp
* " 'a
"'nism
e c olos ic al
Ler m sor
genetics;neuroscien
ces;pharmacoIogy:ecoIogy,
evolutionand behaviour;
and physiology
Microbiology
wassubsumed
undercelland
developmental
biology
The currentfasbionin lifescience
is clearly
directedtowardswealthcreationand it is easier
pol i ti calto
l y defendthe di sci pl i nes
i n the 1995
listin this light.lt followsa strongreductionist
approach
to biologywhichmustfavour
n p__.*.._*|on
cj2ljT2+i^^
- ^ . 1 flragmenlalton.
rramantrt
._ q_r
anc
This has long been a matter of concern for
the Society in relation to the strudcureo[ and
attendanceat, our meetings.Pressureon
n
tLii lm
^-L+L E^j I^l -u d' rl ^I ^L (^j ^c^l Lt t-j c^l n e r a l o t r r Le m
t r | Ga
N lL <
:> ed
p Le
v po
r un
J le's
inr-reasino
lesseasyto justifythan
broad-ranging
meetings
attendance
at soecialist
' r - - ' * " " meetinps.
' b ' ' which
' ' ' " - seem
+L \^J tL ^J C^ C^V, C, ^| - ti l ^r L- r- ^C d-)-i lt r o1 5 ii lnr fr rrCc9nU Cr |r c nr Lc/ .v S
J P "q e c i a l i s t
meetings
havemanyadvantages,
particularly
the
peoplegathered
concentration
of lil<e-minded
t h i s n h v s i e a l d i v i d e i n t e r , a r - td i r e r t l v w i t h e a c h
in a smalle[more intimategroup.This
is highly
other:Theoroblem,of course,isthat the
desirable
and certainlvoromotesefficient
membersof thiscommunityare
multicellular
communication,
but shouldgo on aswell as,
hr, -anlnaicic
nr
lrr
.onorellrr
ctr rrliarl
zoorogrsrs
or
Dotantsts
Dy
5'"-'
not insteadof attendance
at generalmeetings.
view of nature,
with their individual-centred
Discipline
fragmentation
maybe dr-iven
by
It is alsothe casethat certain taxonomic
a nerceived
needto keensrch sneci:list
. r nrouP
I Inc s
n :,r t i r r
hz fhp :rthrnnnr]c
r3 n c o mP a s s
g
P
ar Lrrcl : rur
a r,/
meetings
small.Eitherway,thisexertsstrong
from both srdesof this partrcular
organisms
oositive
and it is sadto readthat
r - " - ' ' feedbacl<
our traditional,
divideandthat contradicts
the Australianand New ZealandAssociation
. ' ' ' - Y ' | / J | L u I
^ ^ + - L - l i ^ l ^ ^ ! . . , - , , (^- ,{/ r ^ - ^ - ^ ; - ; ^ ^
g)Ldr-rlr)l
rcu
vvd./
\Jr
Sclr
ilLil
r5
^, - --ademiC
uur
aL
lt is quiteshocl<ing
to realize
that
endeavours.
there is no means,no matterhow mucheffort
e n * irl nr , *Lnr - , / n
t)
PUL
. ^ +r Li ifly/ tLhr cr c trscr la:l tt vi yc c
9ud.r
a.hr Jru rl n d a n C e
d
Of
withina givensampleor to
allorganisms
partitiontheir contributions
to almostany
maior ecoqvqtem nrocess lt is not nossible to
' ' '*J''
for the Advancementof Scienceis on the verge
of beinp
uo becauseboth membershio
' b wound
" -."'
and attendanceat their meetinss has fallento
such a low level.
?elczarmal<esa rather different ooint in an
QTQUO) \a
- hD^O, U
r rrirhn oe W a y w e
c : r l i c r e r l i t n r i*:.l 1
, .f.r 3z /l 2 .\I,Y
nromote /defend) orrr discinline lf we succumb
in t he s ens eo f d e l i mi t,
a discipline.
d ef lne,
accessible
bool<mal<es
the serious to excessive
Dusenbery's
hyperbolein our enthusiasm,
noint th:t
H""'.
the r-licrinline nf mir-rohioloov
chor rld
and
encompass
a wider rangeof functionally
relatedorganisms
thanwe do by
physically
tradition,I wonderhow muchorganizational
infrastructure
contributesto this view of
microbiology
Shouldwe continuewith
of our
traditional
taxonomicorganization
the
In manyuniversities
academic
struclures?
^ - - +Lir-L,U, rr d- r-rr/ , ,+L \^J , , ^ , , ".tbp O*e- TO' -O l ei' .n' a n e f f O r t t O
Pdr
/\_/ur
T
attraCstudentsinto microbiology,
will we be
ableto deliversuchstimulating
sciencein the
I wasnonplussed
classroom?
thissummerwhen
a vacationstudentdescribed
my laboratoryas
' ^ , , i ^ + ' ^ ^ r- - i r i n , . , a S
9U|CL
C 1 trU > d r u r L V V
n o t a t a l lw h a t s h e h a d
^,n' ,lr'l h"',o L,
+ 'wourc
1 ^ h + irI
__gnl
nave Deen more
'adcive',
by which I think she meant exciting.The
evnerted
Shc
thnr
Denartments have alreadv suectimbed to the
orrfont
largerunitof the School,but the inertia
is still
structures
inherentin administrative
of
ls it usefulto loseDepartments
evident.
Zoology,Botanyand Microbiologyin favour
Sciences?
lsthere moreto be
of Biological
integration
than by
gainedby administrative
research?
Where does
interdisciplinary
M
i- - ^^; ^r ^^,-> ,*r d i n s u c ha d e b a te ?
| ilLr (Jr-Jr(Jr\_.r5l
Ldl
from her educationwaswhat strucl<me most;
pushto drivecostsdown
in the evenincreasing
it seemedto me that her educatron
had been
to her ratherthan beingdugout
delivered
from the wealthof information
that makesuo
in the literature.The
focus
our givenknowledge
hadbeensharpened
of her learning
to a degree
or exDloratton.
that leftlittlesoacefor crrriositv
lf this is the way we are requiredto teach,how
shouldwe promoteMicrobiology?
My attentionwas alsodrawnto two editorials
Pelczar
which
in the ASMNewsby tYichael
reflecta similarconcernaboutthe distinctness
of the discinline
in the UnitedStates.
In the
notes
1996
editorial,
Pelczar
that
the
June
Council(NRC) surveyed
NationalResearch
nesearch
andteachingand,in 1982,dividedthe
into six majorfields:
brochemistry
biosciences
microbiology,
celIularand molecularbiology,
, l^ +te
! -^^l^l . - ^ + - ^ , , ^ h , , - i ^ i ^ ^ , , ^ ^ ru
l-u\J|lJY/. il | LrI
uQtdt ty, Pr r/>r\Jr\-rBl dr
| 995
howeve[ they used seven fields:
assessment,
hior-hemistrvand molecularbiologv:cell and
developmentalbiology;molecularand general
nf +he Asrlzorr-rt rnrJ lznnrnrlorloo
,vvv,uvsv mtsslng
I was alsoaskedwhetherbiologists
who were
not membersof the Societycouldcontribute
reviewthat
to the Bestof BdtlshMicrobiology
we were tryingto assemble
as part of our
effortsto promotethe well-beingof the
discipline.The
answerto that is emphatically
yes.TheSocietywill remainhealthyonlyif the
.- +
l i c r i n l i n p r e r n r i n c f -learlny:InaI
^ . 1 + 4 , , .+ h - + h
i
nas
Io^ De
our
first priority.
DaveRoberts
|
-l
o
In tnrs
issue...
MtcRostarMETABoLITEs
have
beenregardedasa prime
sourceof bioactivesubstances
for many years.|.M S6nchezPuellesand S.W Elsonfrom
Madrid,
SmithKlineBeecham,
examinesomeof the methods
currentlyemployedto aid
the discoveryof noveland
diversetherapeuticagents
(pp.r2r-r23).
It's nearlyChristmas
againand the questionon
everyone's
mind is'do microorganismsbelievein Santa
Claus?'LizSocketttries to
answerthis questionin a
light-heartedseasonallook at
the world of microbiology
$p.Da-r25).
Followingnegotiationswith
the variousinterestedparties,
it hasnow beenagreed,at
leastin principle,that SGM
will becomethe new
publisherof the prestigious
Internationallournal of
Bacteriology(see
Systematic
JournalNewson p.137).
Congratulationsare in order
to the Irish Branchof the
SGM which celebratedits
Silveriubileethis year.Details
of someof the eventsheld
to celebratethe first 25 years
aregivenon p.127.
Thesearticlesappearin
addition to all the regular
featuresand reportsof
Societyactivities.
EnnanuFl
Thereis a misprinton p. 91
of the May 1997Quarterly
(Vol.24,part 3). http://
www-micro,msb.le.uk/
should readhttp://
wvrw-micro.msb.Ie.ac.uk/
r'*T-*t
j 1 ' , / , ' , r st l, i' l a l l l t t l r ' i( ' 1 r ' 5( ' \ 1 ) /( . i . i ( ' / f
I
I i t t t l t L l . , l i l r t t i t t l r l t t t t t t l r t t r ' t ' . i : r /ri1 l I
i , ' l l , ' , r l t l l t L t r t1l , 1 r / i 11' 1r / l l r , S t , \ 1
I
|
I
| | t'lllltll.
L-----**_.-___l
Ou Dntnnrc/
Or INQUIpytNtO HtcHtp
ONTHENnrtONnl-COtultr,ttrrEl
A CO1UUSNT
HrcUrn EouCanoN IN THE lreRlvtlvc SOanv
EouCarrONREpORT
(THeDranlxc Rrronr).
s the government appearsto have used the publication of the
psaling Report to remind us that we should,if anything,expect
less money in Higher Education rather than more, the thought
that there might be some matter of interestin the rePort itself (and
which might be brought to fruition) indicatesthat one is having a
pretty quiet weekend.There are, however,a few exceptionsand one
of theseis the issueof standards.You will all recall that a legary of
the Thatcheryearsis the generalnotion that no one doesa stroke of
work for which there is no supervision,and all academicsare idle,
feckless,etc. Nowhere is this legacymore strongly cherished than in
the Higher Education Funding Councils, who have spawned the
this limb of bureaucrary
Quality AssuranceAgency. The charm of
'Dearing'
that does require
in
mention
a
it
gets
is not great,but
I
fL
of academic staff recognized by the Quality Assurance Agenry
from which institutions must select external examiners" be
created.*
The question as to who is going to judge the adequacy of a
programme specificationor speciff a benchmark for standards,or
gain entry to the'Guild of ExternalExaminersof the UK'is one upon
which we should all reflect carefully. If we are to provide education
and training in microbiology, it becomes important that these
judgementsare made on us and our programmesby people with a
deep knowledge of microbiology who can command our respect.It
is not inevitablethat this will happen.It may be that the reformation
of the UK National Committee for MicrobioloSF (to which reference
has been made in previous Quarterlyarticles) is timely. Perhapsthis
is the vehicle that will enable the whole microbiological community
to have some say in who gets to sit in judgement of our affairs.
Nominations (and black balls) to the SGM ProfessionalAffairs
Office please,in strict confidence of course- after all, you can safely
bet we will never be told how the QAA make their selections.
some consideration.
Dearing proposes (Recommendation21) that each programme
of study offered should have a "programme specification" setting
out inter alia the intended outcomes of the programme and
provide
(Recommendation 25) that "small expert teams
benchmark information on standards"and that "a UK-wide pool
ProfessorChris Thurston is Professional Affairs Officer of the
Society.He worlcs in the Division of Life Sciencesat King's College
London.
lfrw uK scrrrucrMnrrsTER
scanning.He felt the approach should be to recognizecomplexity
and ambiguity, rather than reductionism,which had perhapsled to
a fearof sciencein the public mind.
TmrcsAnouT GovnnNMENT
ScrmrcrPoucY
-I- h. SGM is a member of the Parliamentary and Scientific
I Committee, a forum within Parliament for the exchangeof
views and information between the scientific community at large
and membersof the House of Commons and House of Lords. The
Committee was recently addressedby the incoming Government's
new ScienceMinister,lohn Battle MP.It was perhapsnot surprising,
given Chancellor Brown's iron grip on expenditure, that the 50
minute speechcontainedlittle or no direct referenceto Government
funding for R&O.
The Minister explained that his job covers a very wide range:
science,engineering and technology (SET); enelgy and industry;
information technology and telecommunications.He didn't want
this to be regardedas a rag bag but thought of as a coherentgrouP
and strongly future-orientated. The Government had decided to
leavethe Office of Scienceand Technologywithin the Departmentof
Trade and Industry rather than move it back to the Cabinet Office,
from whence it had recently and somewhat controversially emerged.
In his words "the important things are competencies,not physical
placing of desks".He wanted SET to be a "heartbeat"within the DTI
but emphasizedthat its purpose should not only be seenas wealth
creation,within the narrow trade and industry context,but also be
about improvement of the quality of life.
THINKING
LONG-TERM
The large majority securedby the incoming Government gavethem
the privileged position of being able to get beyond the next news
bulletin and give longer term considerationto the developmentand
implementation of strategy.Again in his words,"to do somejoinedup thinking". Sciencepolicy should stressthe variety of approaches
and recognizethe diversenature of basic science.This should not
be regardedasbeing on a simple linear path to new products.It was
important to be ready for the unanticipated, to recognize that
researchand developmentare not a singleentity; they are interactive
but disjoined. His example was how technology developed for
exploration in the oil industry had also found application in brain
*See
also THES 19 Sept 1997, p. l,Workbegins on degreestandardswhere "threshold
standards" are described.
AND CO.OPERATION
COMPETITIVENESS
It was important to recognizethat SET contributed to industrial and
international competitivenessand especiallyto note the benefitsthe
UK derived from its good sciencebase.A topical examplewas the
decisionby Microsoft to locate a major R&D facility at Cambridge.
But he also wished to stressthe importance of co-operation where
appropriate:the Government would be fully active in the European
Council of Ministers in developingcritical mass,fostering interactions
and new models for co-operativeresearch.He also wanted to seean
improved partnership behveen businessand industry on the one
hand, and the universitiesand researchinstitutes on the other, to
make companiesmore awareof the importance of R&D and the need
for long-term investment in it, and less focused on the short-term
profit-dominated outlook. The Government was solidly behind the
ForesightProgrammebut felt that it now neededto move on a stage.
In looking at the reports of the first Foresightexercisehe had been
betweenmany of the topics.
struck by the lack of cross-referencing
PERCEPTION
AND PUBLIC
GOVERNMENT
OFSCIENCE
Although the OST remained in the DTI he saw a scientific
approach to developmentof Government policy as essentialin all
departments.There was a need for a serious debate about science,
not in the all-too-familiar tabloid terms of Frankenstein and
potential for evil, but recognizing what he called its neutrality
and ambiguity. Departments needed procedures to anticipate
potentially sensitiveissueswherethey would require scientificadvice
and research,and theseissuesshould be consideredin a climate of
openness.Every Government policy paper should have a section
askingwhether scientific advicewas needed.There should also be a
continuous effort to increasethe understanding of sciencein the
minds of politicians and the public. He felt that many scientists
were very good communicators, who spoke about their subject
with sincerity and enthusiasm: politicians should listen more. It
would be helpful that severalMPs in the new intake had science
and technologybackgrounds.
Ron Fraser, SGM ExecutiveSecretary
t2l
Many sourcesof chemicaldiversityare used
in the search for new drugs. Microbial
metaboliteshave long been an important
source of bioactivecompounds and this
articledescribesthe approachesnow being
used to enhancethe discoveryof novel
therapeuticcompounds.
THr Ivrpecr oF BroprvERsrryANDCupvrrcAl
DryEnsrTY
oN Dnuc DrscovERY
and S.'W.Elson
J.M. Sdnchez-Puelles
OF MICROBIAL
AND ECONOMICIMPACT
MEDICAL
METABOLITES
SECONDARY
CHEMICAL DIVERSITY
Nowadays,an important route of new drug discovery for most major
pharmaceutical companies is high throughput screening.
This consists of the rapid (usually automated) testing of banks
of compounds and/or natural product extractsagainsta biological
systeminvolvedin a diseasecondition. This latter maybe a whole cell
system (pro- or eukaryotic) or more typically a cloned and
purified enzyme or receptor.The attraction of microbial secondary
metabolite screening lies in the huge range of structures that
micro-organismsare capableof producing. Given that each culture
extract is a complex mixture of molecules, a large collection of
extracts represents a level of chemical diversity that would be
impossibleto reproduceby chemicalsynthesis.Compounds that are
'hits'
from high throughput screeningare the starting
selectedas
points for intensive programmes of development which usually
'lead
include further chemical modification of the
structure' to
optimize its biological activity and pharmacokineticproperties.
Natural products have had - and are still having - a major impact
on human health during the second half of this century. Cragg
and co-workers recently reviewed the topic, showing that in the
period from 1989to 1995over600/oof approveddrugs and pre-NDA
(New Drug Application) candidatesin the anti-cancer and antibacterialareaswere of natural origin. The discoveryand exploitation
of naturally occurring antibiotics during the late 1940sand the 1950s
had a major impact on the control of infectious diseases
and hence on the growth of the modern pharmaceutical industry.
The introduction of the semisyntheticpenicillins in the early 1960s
did much to confirm and reinforce the philosophy that systematic
chemical modification of an active nucleus could result in the
production of drugs with greatlyimproved therapeuticproperties.
In the ensuing years the pharmaceuticalindustry has not only
continued to screen microbial extracts for antibacterial activity but
has successfully extended this approach to include other disease
'statins' (cholesterol-lowering)
and
areas.Thus, drugs such as the
Cyclosporin (immunosuppressant)are enjoying great medical and
commercial successin addition to the antibacterialsAugmentin,
Clarithromycin and Ceftriaxone(Fig. 1). All of theseare currently in
the top 20 drugs sold worldwide and collectively gross salesof over
$10,000million.
,1,'ol-f
)_L ''-,- r
dl
cqH
"n-</>-{.,^"
\-J
r
"
THE MICROBIOLOGY
OF SECONDARY
METABOLITE
SCREENING
The micro-organisms that are used in screening (fungi, actinomycetes, unicelhilar bacteria and yeasts) are usually isolated
from soil samples or other samples in the process of microbial
degradation. The pure cultures are then
grown, typically in small-scaleshakenliquid
culture, to produce material for screening.
It is common practice to grow each culture
in more than one medium, as it is well
known that different media can trigger
the production of different secondary
metabolites (increasedchemical diversity).
As culture broths often contain extracellular enzymesthat can causeundesirable
interference in screens (e.g. proteases
that could degrade the assay enzyme), it
is normal to treat the culture in some
way prior to screening to eliminate high
molecular mass components. Different
companieshave different approachesto this
problem. In the past a favoured method has
been to extract the culture with a waterimmiscible solventand to screenthe solvent
extract. A potential disadvantagewith this
method is that highly polar compounds will
be extracted out so the chemical diversity
being screenedis reduced.
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Equally, different speciesof the same genus, and even different
genera, can often produce the same secondary metabolite, an
extreme - though by no means rare - examplebeing Streptomyces
(a prokaryote)and Penicilliumchrysogenun(a eukaryote),
clavuligerus
both of which produce penicillin.
ffi
\
d4'-;
w
AND CHEMICAL
OF BIODIVERSITY
THEFUTURE
DIVERSITY
ffi
a.\rlt.e
"4
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Fig.2. Purifiedculturesisolatedfrom soil.
The disadvantagesof this method are that:
(a) the rate of screeningis directly gearedto the rate at which the
microbiology department can isolateand grow organisms;
(b) unless strict controls are in place the same organismsmay be
repeatedlyre-isolatedand re-screenedwhich is wastefulof time
and reagents;
The secondapproachis basedon permanent culture and extract
collections.With care,very largeculture collectionscan be built with
high biodiversity and low redundancy.New cultures are routinely
grown up and the resulting extractsare put into the extract bank.
Master copiesof the culturesare simultaneouslylaid down for longterm storage.The extract bank usually consistsof severalmaster
copiesof the extractsfrom which daughter copiescan be routinely
prepared for screening.It is common practice to store the extracts
in microtitre plate format so that they can be easily handled by
automated laboratory systems.Due to the existenceof a standing
extract collection, screening can proceed independently from
microbiology, and full advantage can be taken of the speed of
modern roboticizedscreeningsystems,which can havethroughputs
of tens of thousands of assaysper day. The disadvantagesof this
secondapproachare that:
(a) maintaining large standing culture and extract collectionsis
t
labour-intensive;
(usually
of
amounts
require
large
(b) the collections
low temperature)storagespace;
(c) even with great care, cultures may die and
extractsdegradeon storage;
(d) for reasonsthat are poorly understood,microorganismscan temporarily or permanentlylose
their ability to produce secondarymetabolites
after long-term storage.
Despite the difficulties of correlating chemical diversity with biodiversity there is a general consensus that including as many
representativesas possible from different genera in the collection
should be beneficial,and that multiple examplesof the samespecies
are permissible, provided that they were isolated from different
environments or widely different geographicallocations, both
factors indicating that the strains may be capable of producing
different metabolites.
For the above reasonsthere has been a recent tendency to focus
on extreme environments (saline, halophilic, thermophilic, etc.)
in which the microflora have evolvedunusual metabolismsto cope
with the extreme physico-chemical conditions. However, the
availability of a variety of molecular technologiesto assessgenetic
diversityat the DNA levelhasbroken the mould of classicalconcepts
of biodiversity,up to now defined by morphological and metabolic
studies,and led Paceto conclude that "it is not necessaryto go to
extremeenvironmentsto encounter exotic diversity; it is all around
us".Interestingly,extraction and analysisof DNA directly from soil
indicatesthe presenceof a very large number of micro-organisms
which are not seen using conventional cultivation techniques.
Recently,severalstart-up companieshave been formed which aim
from these'unculturable'
to isolatesecondarymetabolicgene-clusters
organismsand expressthem in surrogatehosts.
A further elegant application of molecular geneticsto generate
chemicaldiversity is combinatorial biosynthesis.This techniquehas
primarily been applied to gene-clustersinvolved in the production
of polyketide secondarymetabolites.The polyketides form a very
large and structurally very diversefamily of metabolites,and many
micro-organisms,both pro- and eukaryotic,are capableof producing
them. Despitetheir structural diversity,polyketidessharea common
mechanism of biosynthesiswhereby the carbon backbonesof the
moleculesare assembledby repetitivecondensationsof acetates(or
other small fatty acids) with cyclesof reduction/dehydration.These
processes
take placeon multidomain enzymesor multienzyme complexes.By deletingor shufflingdomainsat the geneticlevelit hasbeen
possibleto produce a wide variety of novel polyketide structures.
ABOUTBIODIVERSITY
A culture collection of high biodiversity could be
simply defined as a collection that contains a lot
of different genera and species.However, such a
statement would not be a very good description
of the pharmaceutical industry's interest in
biodiversity, which is ultimately to have culture
collectionsthat produce high chemical diversity.To
speciff, for example,that a collection should only
griseuswould
contain one specimenof Streptomyces
result in reducing the collection'schemicaldiversity
as it is well known that different strainsof S.griseus
are capableof producing a wide variety of different
chemical structures, even though by classical
phenotyping the cultures apPear to be identical.
Fig. 3. Scalingup the production of a novel metabolite.
t23
CONCLUSIONS
S U GGE S TE D
FU R TH E RR E A D IN G
industry
The paceof technologydevelopmentin the pharmaceutical
has been enormous in recentyears.The sequencingof the human
and microbial genomesis opening up possibilitiesto treat hitherto
untreatable diseasesand is identifring novel molecular targets for
high throughput screening.Equally,the industry'sability to rapidly
clone and expressthesetargets,coupledwith the rapid advancesin
laboratoryrobotics meansthat screeningcan now take placeon a
massivescale.The remaining factor neededto ensurethe success
of this approachis a large bank of diversechemicalstructuresto
put into the screeningcascade.
Combinatorialchemistryis showing
much promise as a way of rapidly producing large libraries,but
as yet is not capable of producing the variety and structural
complexity of microbial secondary metabolites.The use of
moleculargenetictechniquesto increaseboth the bio- and chemical
diversity of culture collections should ensure that microbial
secondarymetabolitescontinue to play an important role in new
drug discoveryin the yearsahead.
BULL, A.T.,GOODFELLOW M. & SLATER,I.H.(1992).Annu Rev
Microbiol 46,219-252.
c H o P R A , I . , H O D G S O N ,J . ,M E T C A L F B
, . & P O S T EG
, . (1997).
AntimicrobAgentsChemother41,497-503.
CRAGG,G.M., NEWMAN, D.J.& SNADER,K.M. (1997).J Nat Prod 60,
52-60.
HALL, M.J. (1989).Biotechnology
7, 427-430.
HOPWOOD, D.A.,MALPARTIDA,F.,KIESER,H.M. and others(1985).
Nature 314,642-644.
KARP and others (1997).Nature Biotechnol15,625-628.
MONAGHAN, R.L. & TKACZ, J.S.(1990).Annu RevMicrobiol44,27l-301.
OMURA, S. (1992).I Ind Microbiol 10,135-156.
OMURA, S.,IKEDA,H., MALPARTIDA,F.,KIESER,H.
& HOPWOOD, D.A. (1986).AntimicrobAgentsChemother29,13-19.
PACE,N.R. ( 1997).Science
276,734-740.
PENNISI,E. (1997).Science
276,705-706.
PETSKO,G.A. (1996).Nature 384 suppl.,7-9.
I.M. Sdnchez-Puellesand S.W. Elson, SmithKine Beecham 5.A.,
Centro de Investigacion Basica, Cl Santiago Grisolia, 4 Parque
Tecnologicode Madrid (PTM), 28760 Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
(Tel.+34 1 8039444;Fax +34 1 803 9331).
T S O I ,J .& K H O S L A ,C . ( 1 9 9 5 ) .C h e mB i o l 2 , 3 5 5 - 3 6 2 .
TRAVIS,I. 0994). Science264,360-362.
. a t u r e3 8 4 s u p p l . ,1 l - 1 3 .
V E R D I N E ,G . L . ( 1 9 9 6 ) N
WOODRUFR H.B. ( 1980).Science208, 1225-1229.
6eagreefanf cou[f inrfudestandar[topiu sucltasproteinstntcture,
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124
To You Arr!
A Vsnv MtcnoBIALCHnIsTMAS
Liz Sockett
.1.1 h. nights aredrawing in, constanttemperatureroom monitors are
I working overtime to keep our micro-organisms cosy and we are
all looking forward to a well earnedbreak over the Christmas period.
Does it ever occur to you as you pack up your lab for a winter
break that Christmas may have deeply microbial connections?This
brief review has unearthed many links between microbiology and
Christmas and leavesus wondering ... Do micro-organismsbelieve
in SantaClaus?
SHERRY
'Oxbridge'
For those of us teaching in universities outside the
set, sherry is usually associatedwith Christmas rather than undergraduate tutorials. Micro-organisms are obviously important in
the early stagesof sherry production, but they can also pose a
spoilage problem later in the production process. Spanish
researchershave been using PCR to detect low levels of
Brettanomycesfungi in sherry; these fungi can grow and spoil
the tasteof the sherry if not detectedearly.4
PHENOTYPE
THE FESTIVE
Work reported in this review was prompted in our laboratory by a
chanceobservationof unusual colony morphologieson aerobically
incubated plates containing two strains of the bacterium
Rhodobactersphaeroides.The two strains wild-type WS8 and
carotenoid mutant Ga respectivelyproduce red and green colonies
at all times of the year,but in Decemberall platesexaminedshowed
festivemotifs (Fig. 1).
Following this observationwe carried out a literature
searchand found that many items which are part of
the Christmas festivitieshave a microbial link - fir
trees, nuts, sherry, turkey, poinsettias, and even
Christmas itself. Our database searcheshave
revealedthat Santa Claus is essentialto the very
fabric of micro-organisms!
FI RT RE E S
Forestersare happy for the boom
in fir tree sales that Christmas
brings, but published research
from the USA and Germany
indicates that fungi rather than
foresters may govern whether
those trees develop and survive
well enough to ever reach the
tinsel, fafty and lights stage. An
Englishabstractfrom an article by German
scientists reveals that fir tree seeds can be
colonized with pathogenic fungi whose hyphae
may outgrow the emergingroot of the germinating
seedso the fir tree doesn'tstand a chance.l The role
of fungi is not all bad though. American scientists
have found that ectomycorrhizalfungi form important
'helping'
the trees to
symbioses with Douglas fir roots
grow.2
TURKEY
We all check the turkey obsessivelyafter hours of cooking to see
if it is red raw or done to a turn, worrying that it may damage
our health. A Danish researchgroup has been concentrating on
whether the farming of so many turkeys could damage the earth's
atmosphere.5They spent 1996 studying the contribution of a
bacterium called Methanogenium which lives in turkeys'
guts to levelsof atmosphericmethane!
POINSETTIAS
A nice pot plant is alwaysthe acceptableChristmas
gift for Auntie Vera, but how many leggy
specimens do we sort through before
we find a handsome specimen? A
recent review in ASM News6 of
work by USDA scientistsTtells us
that wall-less bacteria called
phytoplasmas are essential to
producing a nice bushy branched
poinsettia. Leggy plants arise
when growers kill the phytoplasmas by heat-treating plant
tissue in a processdesignedto get
rid of pathogenic micro-organisms.
So when giving Auntie Vera a beautiful
poinsettia, you are also giving her a culture
of the micro-organisms which induced the
plant's shape.
CHRISTMASITSELF
One micro-organism has already establishedsuch
notoriety at Christmas time that it has been given a festive
name. During Christmas 1993at a hotel in South
Fig. l. Festivecolony morphology
West Scotland there was an outbreak of food
of RhodoboaersphoeroidesWSSand
poisoning due to a small round-structured
Ga strains on LB platesthat were
NUTS
aerobicallyincubatedin December!
Norwalk virus (SRSV) in raw oysters.s This
'Christmas'
Many of us appal our non-microbiologist relatives
virus strain has proved difficult
during the holidayswith lurid talesof microbial pathogens,usually
to identifr by usual testing procedures,so researchersare working
over the dinner table. An old favourite is usually to explain
to developnew PCR-basedsystemsfor detection.e
the damaging properties of aflatoxin just as someonehas reached
for another handful of dry-roasted peanuts.Helpful researchis at
AND FINALLYTHE SANTA CONNECTION!
hand to prevent the blue peanut finding its way into the bottom
gamma
how
Just how far Christmas is linked to vital functions of microof the bowl. Iranian scientistshave been studying
organisms can be graphically illustrated by searching databaseso'f'
irradiation can prevent growth of pathogenic fungi on stored
microbial proteins. The author presents as evidence the results
salted pistachio nuts and dates.They can check up to seewhether
from a'festive motif' searchwhich indicate that Father Christmas
manufacturers have irradiated their nuts properly by looking at
is vital to viruses and to prokaryotic and eukaryotic microafter
it
fades
with
time
luminescence of salt in the nuts;
organisms (Fig. 2). A cytochrome c oxidase polypeptide from
irradiation.3
r25
mitochondria of Paramecium,l0a luteoviruscoat
protein from barley yellow dwarf virus I I and a
chemotaxis protein from Bacillus subtili.sl2 all
contain the same motif: Ser-Ala-Asn-Thr-Alaor
SAN?i4! Interestingly,the authors of the Bacillus
sequencenote that the chemotaxis protein is
inactive and that there are several explanations
for this, but maybe the presenceof the SANTA
motif indicates that the protein is merely having
a holiday!
So microbiology gets everywhere even at
Christmas.This review endswith best wishesfor a
huppy holiday - a Christmas stocking containing
something nicer than Trichophyton,and plenty of
glassesof yeastsecondarymetabolites!
Dr Liz Sockettis a Lecturer in Microbiology in the
Schoolof Biology at Nottingham University.This
'last
Iighthearted interlude comesfrom a
day of
term' Iecture to first year microbiology undergraduates.Liz thanks Deepan Shah, Matt Edge,
Claire Rose (, Sabine Friedl for producing
some of the plates in Fig. 1 and for their festive
enthusiasm.
REFERENCES
H. (1992)
. Allgemeine
Forstund
l. COURTOIS,
163,45-53.
Jagdzeitung
R.P.andothers(1991).PlantSoil134,
2. GRIFFITHS,
255-259.
Cytochrome c oxidase polypeptide ll from Paramecium tetraureliomitochondrial0
I
i"{E}itf4t'JTDLF YLTLKQriF,YI{ F-I1,r,]{IPLFTR LD|$]DLSA\TI
5|
LvAldriirlisl
ASiI,.F.TDtipy
EFNATSLyRC iliI.J,iIiLF.sEN FSVeLSFs.LL RTr.riri-\,T-ps
yDVrHSir"Frp ALGTKTDCVI Gn-ATHHTFvc DS-vctryyGeC
l0l
lfrlwrlt,rsNS
l5 |
AErccF.rTiHH i4piKLCrLpF
20 |
t?iFCl,I
EHFLIi.IJOI-IF GLIKIL,FTES
i;w.FETDTGL,
Coat protein from BarleyYellowDwar-fVirus(a Luteovirus)ll
I
I'{i{SVGFP.GPR
PANQNGTRRRRRRTVP.P\TWVQPNRAGPF.R
FNGRPfiGFGG
5I
ANFVFRPTGGTE\,ry\,TSVDNLKANSSGAIK FGPSLSQCPALSDGILI,iSYH
l0 | RyKrrsrRtu
FKSHASAInA GATFTELDTAci".esl\Lcsyr NSFTIST^'.TAS
I5I KTFRSLAING KEFQESTIDQFI,dl,tr,YKANGT
TTDTAGQF.II Ti\,lSVSLI!ITA].:
Methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein, TLPC, from Bacillussubtilis | 2
I
tr-rrRFKM<L
GTKTLCLVF\,/ vTLLFSASVG
5I
GDLALSSTYI
DDVMSGDWQVKNNKLYKGQT QINGNEDIVD LLGEKTGDTT
Tr\niIflc{cERA vGTQASSEVT AA.vaLK}icKRF YGQAD\"AGSS
TM'ILKErrES
lly,QMATEKAl,
l0 |
TTFeGDTRVA
I5I
YQTAIT4PLKD QNGNTIGMLY TGA}JQSILAS LTQSLFTQFA f\,T-VIVfMv-S
V]LVLVFTRX
INKRLNALKS AFESAGNGDM TTEq./SDKTGD ELSELS\rYYi\l
7OI
25I
I$RI'tr<I.NDTI
30I
GAQDQITRIE
35I
QTVQQSALQL ASASQQLSAG .AEETNQASEIi TT&\VQQTAIJ
NSESSLKQAS ADIRIISAI\TT AAIADI{GQLA QSKAI)IGQIi,E
IANVQAQ]VDA IHQSIQKSGE IIHQLDGRSK QIEQILSVIT
QIADQTNLLA
401 u\irArtrzuuli\ cEecKGFA\/ ADEVRKLAEE
seesAcersr..
451
RSARSVEI'IVK TEAAEG\I]TII
50I
ISASAHQIND
55I
SQLAEELTGI TSQF'II4INQA ENG
SFAA}]TADIK
LIIEIQK.DI,{NI
QRTRDAFKET AAATGEISAE ISDLSAS\,TN
ESTIO,]TRQAA ALTEtrQFAAM EEITAAStrTL
Fig. 2. Microbial protein sequencesfrom a protozoan, a virus and a bacterium all displayingthe
festive motif.
3. ZARE,Z.and others(1993).RadiatPhysChem42,301-305.
4. IBEAS,J.l. and others(1996).Appl Env Microbiol62,998-1003.
10.PRITCHARD,A.E. and others(1990).NucleicAcidsRes18, 173-180.
I l. MILLER, W.A. and others(1988).NucleicAcidsRes16, 6097-6lll.
42,99-112.
5. JENSEN,B.B.(1996).EnvironMonit Assess
5. MLOT, C. (1997).ASM News63, 181-182.
12.HANLON, D.W. and others (1994).Microbiology140,1847-1854.
7. LEE,I.-M. and others(1997).NatureBiotechnol15, 178-182.
8. WOLFAARDT,M. and others(1995).Water SciTechnol3l,375-382.
9. CHALMERS,l.W.T.& McMILLAN,I.H. (1995).EpidemiolInfect155,
t63-r67.
.SCtENCT
{w
The articlesand sequences
citedform part of real publications.I hope
that the authors don't mind thefree publicity of a festive increasein
their citation ratings!
DIRECTOR
THeSnveBnrrrsH
Scrrrucr
Socrerv(SBS)
WISHES
TO APPOINTA DIRECTOR
TO TAKE
ovER FROMDn JOHr.rMUlVey WHEN HE
RETIRES.
' attot
This is the key, high profile post in
SBS. The ideal candidate will be
articulateand dynamic,with experienceof researchat a senior levelin
academiaor industry and a good understandingof related policy
issues.Mediaexperiencewould be an advantage.
c\\\t
The position is full time but with flexible hours,and will be basedin
or near London. Remunerationis negotiableup to a maximum of
f35,000 p.a.
For further informationpleasecontactthe SBSoffice:SBS,PO Box
242, Oxford OX | 3QQ. Tel. 01865 273407;Fax 01865 5 | | 370;
[email protected]
com
2nd International
Sy*posiumon
Propionibacteria
25-27 fune 1998
University College
Cork
Ireland
ContactDr Tim Cogan,Dairy Products
ResearchCentre,Fermoy,Ireland
Tel.+353 25 42222
Fax +353 25 42340
Email [email protected]
t26
CounsEoN GpxprICSANDCprr Blorocv
op FUNGrANDYpnsrs
Helped by SGM funding, Brazilian
mycologistswidened their knowledge
28IUw-LAucusr1997
Fnonnaton Lavnes,BRAZrL,
UNrunavoeon
of new technicues.
Alan Wheals and Rosane Schwan
from Europe and the
T h. substantialdistance
I USA, restricted funding and limited English
languagecapabilityall help to reduce the flow of
techniques and ideas into otherwise very good
Brazilian laboratories.The students are extremely
well trained usually having undergone an undergraduatedegree,Mastersand Doctoratebeforethey
start their own independentcareersat an agewhen
many of them are quite mature. During the course
of a RoyalSociety-fundedvisit by Alan Whealsto a
number of yeastlaboratoriesin 1996it becameclear
that many of the students could benefit from a
course exposingthem to some new ideas and
RosaneSchwanwaskeento host such a
approaches.
coursein the Departmentof Biology of the Federal
applicationwas
Universityof Lavrasand a successful
madeto the SGM InternationalDevelopmentFund.
In addition to substantialSGM funding, generous
support was received from the Company of
Biologistsand a range of reagentsand handbooks Participantsin the 1997 summer course at the UniversidadeFederalde Lavras,Brazil.
were donatedby Molecular ProbesInc of Oregon,
responses,the cell rycle, yeast genetics,genomics and functional
USA. Micronal, the Brazilian distributors for Olympus, were also
analysis.The aim of the practical component was to show some
persuadedto provide three fluorescencemicroscopesfor the course.
relatively simple techniques which had a good chance of being
The participantswerealsosustainedby copiousamountsof wonderful
with the hope that there was somethingfor everyone.The
successful
coffeeprovidedfreeby local coffeeproducers,CafeTipuana,and every
principal
was the use of the growing range of fluorescent
technique
(cheese
pao
queijo
de
bread)
featured
delicious
cakes
and
break
probeswhich could be usedon living cells.We startedwith a number
provided by a local bakery,PanificadoraArtPan. Such refreshments
of stainswhich haveworked well on Saccharomyces
cerevisiaesuch as
were necessary
sincewe startedwork at the normal time of 7 am and
vitality kits, mitochondrial markers,vacuolarmarkersand whole-cell
the last studentswerekicked out of the lab at l0 pm at night!
stains.The more ambitious studentswere also given pH stainsand
Running a new practical courseaway from one'sown laboratory
yeastsexpressingGreen FluorescentProtein.Many of the stainswere
we receivedfrom the universityand
is a challengebut the assistance
alsousedwith success
on Candidatropicalis,Alternaria sp.,Picnoporus
the departmentensuredthat teethingproblemswere minimized. All
sanguineus,Sporobolomycesspores and Colletotrichum graminicola
lectureswere given by Alan Wheals who also produced the course
hyphaeand conidia.The secondmajor practicalwas the useof sealed
handbook. In addition to chairing all the student presentations,
slideculturesfor examininggrowth and interactionof cellsin monoRosane Schwan was the local host who had to solve problems
layer growth over severalhours or even days.This was especiallygood
ranging from acquiring reagentsthat had disappearedin the post to
for determination of ploidy by budding pattern, dimorphism
gettingthe coursebook printed and bound when thc printer broke.To
in Candida and S. cerevisiaeand the formation of appressoriaby
sharethe workload of the course,Rosanecalledupon help from her
C. graminicola.Thethird practicalinvolved analysisof yeastmatings
a mycologistfrom the StateUniversityof
sister,KatiaSchwan-Estrada,
by complementation tests, by slide culture, including the use of
Maringii,and anothermycologistfriend,Ios€RenatoStangarlin(nickkaryogamy mutants, and determination of mating type with
namedConidio) from ESALQat Piracicaba.Sinceour expertisewasin
pheromone-sensitivestrains. The last practical involved using the
yeasts,we were grateful to have the help of two mycologistswith lots
Internetto exploresomeof the 180siteswhich havespecialinterestfor
of experienceof filamentousfungi. Technicalsupportwasprovidedby
mycologists(URL http://muse.bio.cornell.edu/-fungi/findex.html).
RosaneSchwan'stechnician,Elinir de Paula,and ReinaldoBernardo,a
The rapport between students and staff was excellent and the
technicianfrom Maring6 who paid his own fareto cometo the course
questionnaire
at the end (anonymous of course) confirmed our
ideas!
A
local
MSc
student,
Maria
learn
new
techniques
and
to
perceptionthat the coursewas both enjoyed and appreciatedby all
GabrielaRoca,worked all hours before,during and after the course,
participants.The FederalUniversity of Lavras was createdin 1994
effectivelybecomingthe coursedemonstrator.
from an Agricultural School and has rapidly grown into a major
The coursewas in Englishand we were very pleasedto seethat it
centre.One of the plans is to createa Masterscoursein Microbiology
wasover-subscribed,
eventhough we increasedour intake from 12 to
this year and regular presentation of this course will assistin getting
16. It subsequentlygrew to 18 when two membersof academicstaff
accreditation. The SGM may have initiated a starter culture which,
could not be kept away.The studentshad variedbackgroundsand the
after a period of quiet fermentation, will produce a product which is
emphasis,as in most Brazllian research,was on work that has actual
both
valuableand greatly sought after.
The
yeast
people
worked
on
natural
fermenpotential
application.
or
tations (to makeaguardenteor cachaga)and Candidaspeciesin infections. The filamentous fungal researchersworked on mycorrhizas,
Dr Alan E. Wheals,Schoolof Biology dyBiochemistry,University of
heavy metal detoxification, pectinolytic enzymesand pathogenicity.
Bath, Bath BA2 7AY (Tel. 01225 826826 ext. 4278; Fax 01225
The coursecompriseda mixture of lectures,practicalsand research
826779; Email bssaew@b
ath.ac.uk).
presentations.The aim' of the lectures was to give up-to-date
The topics chosenwere matingDr RosaneFreitasSchwanDepnrtamento de Biologia, Universidade
overviewsof major areasof research.
Federal de Lavras, 37 200 000, Lavras, MG, Brazil (Fax +55 35 829
type expression,mating-type switching growth control, ageing,cell
1100;Email [email protected] ).
growth and polarity,dimorphism,signaltransductionpathways,stress
a27
IrusHBnnxcHSnvnnIuenpp
Martin Collins
Another featureof Irish
, 2'.
Branch meetings from
t
)/ r, | 'ftJ-\
.J
the beginning was the
{',
provision of a forum
}
I
for younger microbiol'rl /l
.,1
/
'.t
ogists,particularly PhD
students,to presentoral
or posterpresentations.
With this background
it was appropriate that
the Silver Jubilee meeting (18-19 September
1997) on Micro-organisms: the Answer to
Envir onmental Polluti on
was held at UCD and
introduced by Liam
Foggarty,who had been
electedto the original committeeat that first Branchmeetingin 1972.
The 25th meeting heard excellentpapers from invited speakersfrom
mainland Europe,UK and Ireland as well as a wide range of papers
from postgraduates.TWodayspreviously a schoolsmicrobiology open
day co-sponsoredby the WellcomeTiust had beenheld in the College
aspart of the SilverJubileecelebration.
The many presentationsofferedfor this and other current meetings
not only indicatethe vibrancy of microbiology in Ireland,but I hope
also indicate that the Irish Branch is managing to fulfil its remit in
encouragingeducationalas well as researchaspectsof the discipline
throughout the whole island.
f _ *
he first meetingof the Irish Branchwasheld on 13April 1972at
the Royal Dublin Society.The establishmentof the Branch was
due largelyto the efforts of Michael Geogheganof UniversityCollege
Dublin (UCD), who subsequentlybecamethe first Convener,and Billy
Robertsof Tiinity CollegeDublin (TCD). They persuadedthe Society's
Council to agreeto the formation of a group on a geographicalrather
than a subjectbasisdue to the recognition of the problemsand expense
of travel to the Society'smeetings in GB, particularly for younger
members.
The remit laid down by Council was "to foster the teaching
and researchin all aspectsof the discipline throughout the whole
island of Ireland". Ways of realizing this remit have developed in
severalways over the years.The Branch Committee itself has always
compriseda widespreadmembership electedfrom the Universities,
Collegesand Institutions throughout the island. This itself reflects
the fact that aspectsof microbiology are taught at virtually every
University and College, many of which pursue well established
researchprogrammes.This has ensuredthat a diverseand changing
variety of interests are represented. Similarly, the Convener-ship
has moved around the island; Michael Geoghegan(UCD), Keiran
Dunican (University College Galway), Roger Marchant (University
of Ulster Coleraine), Liam Foggarty (UCD), Peter Whittaker (St
Patrick's College, Maynooth), SeamusCondon (University College
Cork) and currentlyMartin Collins (Queen'sUniversityBelfast).The
meetings themselveshave reflected the diversity of microbiological
interests with titles ranging from Waste Disposal to Global
Regulation, Infections of Man 6 Animals to Plant-Microbe
Interactions,and Dairy Culturesto EnvironmentalImpact.
To begin with a single oneday meeting and one or more
one-day workshops were held
eachyear,timed to avoid clashing with other SGM meetings
particularly the main Easter
PHOTOMETER
meeting.The singleday format
meant that unless meetings
were held in Dublin, one or
unique combination of
two nights accommodation A
graphical LCD ,.r""n' with
wererequired, which added to
touch-sensitiveoverlay is one of
the costsas few universities in
the mdn features of Camspec's
Ireland provide residential
stylish new range of single
accommodation.A changein
beam spectrophotometers.The
format in the mid-1980sto an
comprehensivebuilt-in control
afternoon following morning
format not only increased software provides wavelength
scanning,quantitation, kinetics,
potential for scientific and
DNA purity and much more via
socialinteractionsbut alsokept
a series of virtual control panels
down the costs.Currently, two
with touch controls. On'screen
meetingsare held per year,but
the Branchhasalsorecognized prompts and simplemenu options
provide outstanding versatility
that the size of the scientific
with easyoperation.Non-volatile
community in Ireland is finite
memory provides storage for up
and has actively sought out
to 50 methods and 50 sets of
opportunitiesfor joint meetings
with other scientific societies. result data. Drivers are included
for direct connection to laser,
In particular, meetings with
inkjet and dot matrix printers to
The National Commission for
produce the highestquality hardMicrobiology in The Royal
copy.The new range is designed
Irish Academy in Dublin
to appealto all types of laboratoappeal to a wider audience
ries, including industrial quality
drawn from Government,
control, clinicaland teaching.
Schoolsand Industry as well
as Universities and Colleges.
I
{'iz)oE/"; ,
,/,
-.f
7
.-'H
rI"
"+*--r-
Martin Collinsis Convenerof thelrish Branchand can be contactedat
Department of Food Science,Agriculture and Food ScienceCentre,
The Queen'sUniversity of Belfast, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX
(Te\.01232255314;Fax 01232668376;Email [email protected]).
CnnspEc BRTNGS
aToucH oF Class A new UV/Vis Spectrophotometer
TOTHEspecrnoMnnt<er
M330BT Single Beam Spectrophotometer
O with touch-screencontrol.
Wavelengthscanning,DNA measurements
etc
Method & data storage
O CamspecLtd
11 High St, Sawston,Cambridge,CBz 4BG
Tel: 01223836971
Fax: 01223836414
[email protected]
WorldWideWeb: http://www.cix.co.uk/-camspec/
r28
SocietyNews
JrlyCouncilMeeting
McNaSBRS
or Corxcn wholeheartedlysupportedproposalsby the Strategy
Planning group that the Societyshould work more closelywith other
societies in allied disciplines, notably the Society for Applied
Microbiology.Consideringhow closewe arein termsof sharedmembership and common interests,it is ironic that in recentyearswe havehad
lessinteractionwith s[AM than with someof the other largesocietiesin
the life sciences.
In the light of indicationsthat suchviewsare sharedby
membersof both societies,stepswill be taken immediatelyto increase
contactsat all levels,and shareinformation to membersmore effectively
through our respectivequarterly publications.In the longer term, it is
hoped that cooperationcan be fosteredin all our spheresof activity.
MrunsRsop cor-rNcrrand Societystaffechoedmy personalappreciation
and thanksin largemeasurefor his support,to Tonyon his retirementas
President.He has been an excellentholder of this important office,
alwaysenergeticand cheerfulin pursuing the high standardsof conduct
of Societybusinesswhich havemarkedhis Presidency.
We wish him well.
I nv orucurED to follow up mention in the last issue of Council's
endorsementof the searchfor a FinanceManager,with the announcement
that Mr RichardNoble hasnow beenappointed.Council welcomedhim
to the Societyand we anticipatethat he will contributeto innovation and
efficiencyin the Society'sfinancial administration, especiallyin the current
times of greatchangein our publishingbusinessand other new activities.
Notices
Tss INTgnNATToNAL
Corvrurttnr
for Systematic Bacteriology
of the International Union of
Microbiological Societies has
let it be known that it is looking
for a new publisher for the
Journal. Council discussedthe
proposition that the Society
might take on publication of
the IJSBon behalf of the ICSB,
and agreeda poliry of energetic
pursuit of this objective (time
is short - publication of the
fournal by the American
Society for Microbiology will
end in December 1997).
Publicationof this international
journal of record by the Society
would not only raise the profile
of the Society internationally,
but also provide a service to
the science of microbiology
which is entirely in line with
the charitable, not-for-profit
aims of the Society.Investment
of resources,
whether financially
or in utilization of the
infrastructure and very able
permanent staff of the Society,
in promotion of this vital
activity of microbial systematics
which underpins most of
our work, would be a worthy
outcome(seep. 137for details).
CharlesPenn,GeneralSecretary
Group CommitteeElections1997
NEw CouprrrrEr MnMsms, elected by
postal ballot (Environmental Microbiology;
Physiology, Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics;
Systematics& Evolution; Virus Groups; Irish
Branch) or electedunopposed (all other
":"y:l:1'"
u:r:-il:*::
Cells& Cell Surfaces
(Universityof Cambridge)
V. Koronakis
C.f. Stirling
u":1r:t
(University of Manchester)
ClinicalVirology
R.P.Eglin
D.W.G. Brown
H.J.O'Neill
(Public Health Laboratory,
Leeds)
(PHLS Central Public Health
Laboratory,London)
(RegionalVirus Laboratory,
u.lt
:l
Education
R.H. Bishop
rG,caltleas;
(University of Ulster)
r:."1t'1""':l:yl
!No:,Tghi-
EnvironmentalM icrobiology
(Robert Gordon University,
L.A. Clegg
lberdelll
Fermentation & Bioprocessing
(University of Teesside)
(ManchesterMetropolitan
University)
R.H. Cumming
M.f. Dempsey
lrish Branch
A.D.W.Dobson
K.A. Kavanagh
(UniversityCollege,Cork)
(St Patrick'sCollege,
t"r":::n]
Microbial Infection
W.L. McPheat
B. Henderson
(ZenecaPharmaceuticals
Macclesfield)
(EastmanDental Institute,
London)
Physiology,Biochemistry & Molecular
Genetics
(Universityof Aberdeen)
A.|.P.Brown
(Universityof Sheffield)
S.|.Foster
(The Queen'sUniversity of
M.J. Larkin
Belfast)
t: tlllo
of EastAnglia)
fU"iversity
Systematic, a euoirti;;
(Heriot-Watt University,
f.G. Burgess
Edinburgh)
(Guy'sand St.Thomas's,
W. Wade
Lold1n)
Virus
G.E.Blair
R.D. Everett
A.M.L. Lever
T. Wileman
(University of Leeds)
(Institute of Virology, Glasgow)
(Addenbrooke'sHospital,
Cambridge)
(Institutefor Animal Health,
Pirbright)
IUMS
Congresses
9-20Auousr 1999
Sydney Convention Centre,
Darling Harbour, Sydney,
Austrolio
Note the dates for your diary.
Further detailsof the congresses
will appear in the next issueof
the Quonerly.
Internet News
Tse Wellcoye Tnusr now
has a website. For the latest
information on policy, grants
and resources relating to
biomedical sciences see
www.wellcome,ac,uk
News of
Members
NoaeLPnrze
Tue NoeeL Assevglv at the
KarolinskaInstitutehasawarded
the 1997 Nobel Prize for
Medicine to Prcfessor Stonley
B. Prusiner, Dept of Neurology,
University of California,School
of Medicine,San Francisco,CA
94]43,USA,for his work on the
Prion theory which proposes
a new biological principle of
infection.
Dr leff Errington of the Sir
William Dunn School of
Pathology,University of Oxford,
has been appointedto a Senior
Research Fellowship of the
BBSRCand awarded the title of
Professorof Microbiology.
The Universiry of Dundee has
conferred on Prcfessor lohn R.
Postgote the degree of Doctor
of Laws honons couso. The
degreewas presentedon | | July
by Professor Rod Herberg a
former General Secretary of
SGM.
Dr Geraldine Schofield has
taken up a Senior Management
appointment with
United
Biscuits. Her role in UB will
involve many of her former
areasof activitywith Unilever.In
addition she will be responsible
for ScientificServiceswith R&D.
The Society notes with regret
the death of Professor luhok
Kahane (member since 1994).
129
SocietyNews
Grants bAwards
Flerning
Lecture
1997
Tne. 1997 FlrurNc LscruRr has been
awardedto Dr Colin Stirling, School of
University of ManBiologicalSciences,
chesterin recognitionof his contribution
to the understandingof protein secretion
and ER targeting in Saccharomyces
The title of his lecture,which
cerevisiae.
will take place at the Society meeting
at the University of Bradford in fanuary
1998, is Protein Targeting to the
EndoplasmicReticulumin Yeast.
Colin waseducatedat BathgateAcademy
before studying Biological Sciencesat
the University of Edinburgh. Under the
tutelageof Ian Dawes,Bev Moseley and Graeme Reid, he developeda
passionfor microbiology that has greatly influencedhis researchcareer.
He graduatedin 1984 with first classhonours in microbiology and
moved west to join David Sherratt's laboratory at the University of
Glasgowwhere he worked on site-specificrecombinationand plasmid
coli.His doctoralwork led to the identificationof
stabilitytn Escherichia
two components of the Xer recombination systemresponsiblefor the
stablemaintenanceof ColEl. After gaining his PhD in 1987he spent
two years as a SERC/NATO ResearchFellow in Randy Schekman's
laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley.There he beganhis
work on protein secretion in yeast by isolating mutants defectivein
He continuedto work upon his return to
membraneprotein biogenesis.
the UK asa lecturer in Biochemistry at the University of Manchester.In
1993he was awardeda Lister Institute )enner ResearchFellowshipand
waspromoted to Readerin 1994.
FlerningAward
FEMSFellowship
for
YoungScientists
THe FeorRATroN
oF EunopeeNMrcRosrolocrcer Socmnrs (FEMS),
of which the SGM is a member, awardsannual Fellowshipsto young
microbiologists for short-stay scientific training in other FEMS
countries. In the past members of the SGM could apply to be the
annual nominee of the Society.However,very few applications were
forthcoming and Council has agreed that the SGM FEMS
Fellowship for 1998should be offered to a microbiologist in Eastern
Europe. The applications will be handled direcdyby FEMS and any
enquiries should be directed to Dr Claudine Elmerich, Institut
Pasteur,Unit6 de Physiologie Cellulaire, 28 rue du Docteur Roux,
F-75724 Paris Cedex 15, France. The closing date for receipt of
nominations is 31 March 1998.
Fund1997/95
Seminar
Speakers
THs PURPosE
of the Seminar
Speakers Fund is to promote
talks on microbiological topics
in departmental seminar programmes. Applications are
invited from Higher Education
Institutions where microbiology
is taught for grants of up to
L200 towards the travel, and
if necessary, accommodation,
expensesof an invited speaker.
f998
THeFuyrr.rcLecruneis an annualaward made by the SGM to recognizeoutstandingres'earchby a young
microbiologist.The field of research may be in any branch of microbiology and the recipient,
the FlemingLecturer,need not be a member of the Sociery.Theaward is {1,000.Nominationsare now
invitedby the CouncilAwardPanelfor the next FlemingLecturerwho will be appointedin 1998.
Rules
1.Only persons who are less
than 36 yearsof ageon I fune
of the year of the Award shall
be eligible.
2. A majority of the work taken
into consideration shall have
been done in a laboratory or
centrelocatedwithin eitherthe
UK or the Republicof Ireland.
3. Candidates,who need not be
membersof the Society,should
submit an outline CV including
detailsof qualifications,scholarships,researchgrants obtained
etc., a list of publications,
evidenceof their age and the
namesof two memberswho are
familiar with their work, who
will be askedto provide a statement detailing the candidateb
contribution to microbiology
and merit for the award.
Alternatively members who
wish to make a nomination
shouldprovidesucha statement
and shouldarrangefor a second
member willing to support the
nomination to provide a statement. and should ask the
candidate to provide the CV
publications list and evidence
of age.
The General Secretary will
be pleasedto advise members
preparing nominations about
the information to be supplied.
4. The recipient will be expected
to give a lecturebasedon his or
her work to a meeting of the
Society,which will usually not
be that which takesplacein the
spring.He or shemay be asked
by the Council of the Societyto
repeat the lecture at another
centre in this country or in
Europe.Expensesofthe lecturer
will be paid by the Society.
Requests for such a second
lecture should be made to the
General Secretaryand will be
consideredby Council. The text
of the lecture will be published
in either Microbiologyor in the
lournal of General Virology,
whichever is the more suitable.
The choice will be at the
discretionof the Editorsof the
two journals.
6. In the event of there being no
successful nominee in any
particular year, the Award
money will be returned to the
funds of the Society.Any given
nominee may be chosenonce
only.
7. Nominationsshould be sentto
the GeneralSecretary,Dr C.W.
Penn, School of Biological
BiologyWestBuilding,
Sciences,
University of Birmingham,
Birmingham B15 2TT,to reach
him before 16 December1997.
The full rules of the scheme
were published on p. 68 of the
May Quarterly.
Applications will be dealt with
on a first come, first servedbasis
during the academicyear, which
is defined as running from
September 1997 to |une 1998.
Written submissions should be
sent to the Grants Office at SGM
Headquarters.
Mariory
Stephenson
Prize
Lecture
r998
Tsr 1998Magony SrEpsENsoN
Pruzs Lscrunnn will
be
Professor Rolf
Thauet
Max-Planck-Institut
ftir
Terrestrische Mikrobiologie,
Marburg, in recognition of
his distinguished contribution
to our knowledge of Cl
metabolism and anaerobic
energetics, methanogens and
sulphate-reducing bacteria.
Dr Thauer will deliver a lecture
on his work at the Society
meeting in
Nottingham
in March 1998. A biography
of Professor Thauer will be
published in the next issue of
the Quarterly.
SocietyNews
EuropeanStudent Grants
of the Societyis now open to postgraduate
SruosNr MENlsrRsHIp
studentswho have no taxable income and are resident and registered for a higher degreein any EuropeanUnion country. For an
annual subscription of only f,15 sterling European Student
Memberscan take advantageof the many benefitsthat this category
of membershipprovides,such asfree registrationat SGM meetings
and the purchase of Society publications at greatly discounted
prices.They arealsoeligiblefor certain grantssuchasthe President's
Fund (seebelow) and PostgraduateStudent Grants which provide
financial assistance(including accommodationand travel costs)for
attendanceat one SGM meeting per year.
In addition to Student Members,younger Ordinary Members of
the Society may apply to the President'sFund (which provides
small sums to assisttravel to non-SGM scientific meetingswhere
the applicant is presentingsome work) provided they are resident
and registeredfor a frrll-time higher degreein an EU country. The
rules of the President'sFund are given below
President's Fund
Tue Pnesoeut'sFuruoprovidessmallgrants to younger members
of the Societyto assisttowards travel worldwide to presenttheir
work at a scientificmeeting,make a short researchvisit or attend
an approvedcourse.Applicantsmust be residentand registeredfor
a PhD in a EuropeanUnion country. Grants from the Fund are
atjre rlesyae'l.,
awarded
o";il:,,olt.t"o"n
1. Applicants must be paid up
members of the SGM of at
least three calendar months
standing before the date of
their application for a grant.
2. Applicants must be resident
and registeredfor a PhD in a
country in the EU.
3. Limited support is available
for the following:
(a) Travelling to present a
paper or a poster on a microbiological topic at a scientific
meeting.
(b) Making a short research
visit.
(c) Attending a short course
(up to two weeks).
4. Applicants must submit
evidenceof the oral or poster
presentation at the meeting,
or accePtanceon the course
or by the host institution,
as appropriate with their
completedapplication form.
5. Applicants who are funded
by a researchcouncil or other
funding body that regularly
supports conference attendance must submit evidence
that they have applied for
sponsorship from that body.
Salariedapplicantsmust submit evidenceof their annual
income (net,aftertax).
6. Grants are usually limited
to f,100 for attendance at
meetingsor institutions in the
f,l55 for
country of residence,
travel to another European
country and'L220 for tiavel
outside Europe.
7. Grants are restrictedto applicants who have not received
an award from the President's
Fund to attend a meeting,visit
or coursein the calendaryear
prior to the application.
8.Retrospective applications
will not be considered.
Postgraduate Student G rants
of SGM currently resident in the
PosrcneouernSrurevr MsN4srRs
UK or another EU country are eligiblefor a grant to coverthe costs
of accommodation and travel in attending ONE of the
following Societymeetings:Nottingham, March 1998; East Anglia,
September1998;Warwick, fanuary 1999;any other SGM Group or
Branch meeting in 1998.Application forms giving full detailsof the
schemewere sentto all StudentMembersin the UK and Republicof
Ireland with their subscription invoices.A separateform is available
for EuropeanStudentMembers
For further detailsof EuropeanStudentMembershipand all of these
grant schemes,please contact the Grants Office at SGM HQ,
Marlborough House, BasingstokeRoad, SpencersWood, Reading
RG7 lAE (Tel. +44 118 988 1821;Fax +44 118 988 5656; Email
grants@socgenmi crobi ol.org.uk).
VacationStudentshipt1998
CouNctl wrsHEsro oFFERa limited number of awards to enable
undergraduatesto work on microbiologicalresearchprojects during
the summer vacation.The purpose of the awards is to provide
undergraduateswith experienceof researchand to encouragethem
The studenahipsprovide
to considera career in scientificresearch.
support at a rate of t l20 per week for a period of up to 8 weeks.
An additionalsum of up to f400 for specificresearchcosts may also
be awarded.Applications
on behalfof namedstudentsare now invited
from SGM members in higher education institutions and research
institutes.Detailsof the schemeare givenbelow.
Guidelines
1. Applicants must be members
of the Society working in a
higher education institution
or research institute in the
UK or Republic of lreland.
Applications must be made on
behalf of a named student.
More than one application
from a department/schoolwill
be considered,but in the case
of several applications being
departments/
submitted,
schools may be asked to rank
the applicants.
2. Studentsmust normally be in
the penultimate year of their
undergraduatecourseand registered at an institution in the
UK or Republic of Ireland.
Applications for students in
their final year will not be
considered.Medical students
will be acceptedat the end of
their intercalated studies, but
not during their electiveperiod.
3. The researchproject must be
on a microbiological subject.
Studentships will not be
awarded for projects that
are part of degree work. A
studentship may be held in a
laboratory away from the
normal place of study, but it
must be locatedwithin the UK
or Republicof Ireland.
4. Applications will be assessed
by a Council Award Panel,
based on the reports of two
referees. The scheme is
competitive and applications
will be judged primarily on the
scientific merits of the project
and the suitability of the
student. Once an award has
been offered, it cannot be
transferredto anotherstudent.
5. The awards will provide
support for the student at a
rate of Ll20 per week for a
period of up to 8 weeks,and
not usually less than 6 weeks.
An additional sum of up to
f,400 for specified research
costs may also be awarded.
Grantsare made to the institution to which the applicant
belongs,not to the supervisor,
on the understanding that it
will administer the award.
6. It is a condition of the award
that the student submits a
brief report of the research
at the completion of the
studentship.
7. Applications must be made
on the appropriateform. The
closing date for applications
is 20 March 1998.
Microscene
vEARS
FoRrse IASTEIGHT
the External RelationsOffice of the Society
has maintained a collection of newspaperclippings about education,
British scienceand every aspect of microbiology. A digest of the
cuttings has been put together three or four times a year and a copy
sent to every university department in the UK where microbiology
is taught. This has proved to be a popular resource, often used
by lecturersfor teachingpurposes.However,the whole exerciseis very
time-consuming and costly; also, due to restrictions imposed by
copyright considerations,the circulation has alwayshad to be limited.
Times have changed since 1989. With the advent of the Society's
website,it wastime for a rethink and to take the opportunity to make
the serviceavailableto anyonewith accessto the Internet. From now
on, the old Microscenewrll be no more. Insteadthere will be a pageon
the websitecalledMicrobiology in the News.This will draw attention
to topics that have recently hit the headlines and will include a
selectionof referenceswhich usersmay consult if they wish to know
more. The pagewill be updated regularly.Hopefully it will be on-line
by the New Year.Check the SGM homepagefor further information
(http://www.socgenmicrobiol.org.uk) or contact Jane Westwell
([email protected]).
funet Hurst
il
ll
t3l
SocietyNews
m*
lfffiu1,[':h"flii:ffim;
Tur Nrxt setWEEK starts on
Friday 13 March 1998. Now in
its fifth year, it has become a
regularfeaturefor those interested in broadening the public's
understandingof science.Many
organizations will be taking up
this unrivalled opportunity to
reach large numbers of people
face to face and through the
extensivemedia reportagewhich
the week generates.
Events being held include
lectures, exhibitions, displays
and demonstrations. setWEEK
is co-ordinated by the British
Association and backed by the
DTI's Office of Science and
Technology. An information
pack is available from the BA
(Tel. 0l7r 973 3074; Email
ba.major.eve@mcr
l.poptel.org.
uk).
What are YOU doing to promote microbiology in setWEEK?
Pleasekeepthe ExternalRelations
Office at SGM HQ informed of
any evehtyou are organizing.We
may even be able to help you
publicizeit.
SGMEvent FoodMicrobiology- TheGood,TheBad & The USly
Fooo trrrcnoBlolocyis the theme of the SGM's own
eventduring setWEEK,which will aim to put food
scaresinto a wider perspective.The approachwill be
to explorethe'Good'micro-organismswhich areused
to produce foods,the'Bad' organismswhich cause
'Ugly'
ones which are
food-borne illness and the
responsiblefor food spoilage.Activitieswill include:
r d. corlputer quiz on food safety to increase
knowledge of how to store, prepare and serve
food safely;
. an interactivedisplayon the'Good, Bad & Ugly'
aspectsof food microbiology;
. an eveningpublic meetingon the theme.
These activities will take place in conjunction with
the University of Reading'sScienceis Fun weekend
during set98, a popular event which last year
attracted around 5,000 visitors. They will be aimed
particularly at the adult population of the Thames
Valley,in contrast to most eventswhich are devised
for children.
If you have any ideas, contributions or would
like further information, please contact Jane
Westwell of the SGM External Relations & Grants
Office (Tel: 0118 988 l82l; Email: j.westwell@
socgenmicrobiol.org.uk).
Morlborough House News
:
::I-'3:e::
::l9IT:*::T::::
Il:::::::::::T3::::::::T:
At the end of Junewe werepleasedto welcomeDr JaneWestwellto the ExternalRelationsand GrantsOffice.
Shehasjoined SGM after2'l' yearsat the University of Readingasa researchadministrator. This waspreceded
by 3 yearsresearchat the University of Westminster investigating a potential mycoherbicide. |ane has taken
over the administration of the PostgraduateConferenceGrants and President'sFund schemesand answers
YercurrRrsreRcrr
Tntvm Awtnns
Ynrurr RrsrencH TRevrr,Awenos
are availableto assistresearchers
in attending national or international meetings to present
their researchfindings.
Applications are invited from
postgraduateresearchstudents
or health professionalsand staff
scientists who are conducting
clinical, lab-based, or surveyresearchin the following
:ff,|
. digestivehealth and disease;
r the intestinal microflora;
. health promotion in the areas
of nutrition/digestive health.
The closing date for all applications is 15 December1997.
Applications will be judged
by a multi-disciplinaryselection
panel and awards will be
announced in fanuary 1998.
Awards will be received on
confirmation of travel and
meetingarrangements.
Yakult Research Tiavel Award
application forms are available
on request from: The Science
Department, Yakult UK Ltd,
12-16 Telford Way, Acton,
London (Tel. 0181 740 4III;
Fax0lSl 740 4999).
::::::i:1-s:::1:::::T::lT::*f:r*:1i:"*"9Y:1::'::::::T:::::::i::::1111
RichardNoble alsojoined the staffin fune to fill the newly createdpost of FinanceManager.Working under
the evervigilant eye of the Tieasurer,Richard has taken over from Hilary Bower responsibility for all of the
Society'sfinancial affairs,with a widened remit to include managementof commercialjournal sales.He is a
Fellowof the Institute of CharteredAccountantsand brings to the SGM experiencefrom the commercial
world. Richard's careerhas been spent mostly in the IT distribution industry where he has seen many
changes,
working initially with a companythat sold the first word processors,
beforeprogressingto PCs,and
*::::
T::1
:::::y::*: ::r*f:::T:*::i:i li*-T:l::TT:::i::::
Another new recruit is Diane Jameswho has taken on the role of afternoon receptionistand administrative
assistant.
We hope that shewill enjoy this work which is rather different from her previousjob as teaching
assistantin a villageprimary school.Diane is alsoa qualifiedkeepfit instructor.No doubt her voicewill soon
becomefamiliar to the membership.
Congratulationsare due to Aidan Parte,MicrobiologyStaff Editor, who is taking on the challengingjob
of Managing Editor of International lournal of SystematicBacteriology,which will be published by SGM
Lastbut not least,congratulationsarealsodue to two long-servingmembersof staff.SandraFabry,who runs
theMembershipOffice,hasnotchedup 20 yearswith SGM,whilst AdrienneJones,Commercialfournal Sales
Administrator,has reachedher majority after2l yearswith the Society.A small staffparty washeld in honour
of the occasionat which a bouquet was presentedto eachlady by the ExecutiveSecretary.Both Sandraand
Adrienne have carried out a wide range of duties for the Society and their contribution to its smooth
running and successover the yearscannot be over-estimated.We are all very grateful for their hard work and
dedication.Sincethe party',Sandrahas announcedher retirement from SGM. We wish her well in her new
life in Dawlish, Devon.
Gut Floraand HealthPast,Presentand Future
Yakult advise that copies of
the proceedings of the above
symposium are available free
to scientists interested in
this subject. Please contact
Hala Mouneimne, Science
Department, Yakult UK Ltd,
12-16 Telford Way, Westway
Estate,Acton, London W3 7XS
(TeI.0181
740 4III).
lournal of Gmeral Microbiologlr
IMinobiologltYols 137143complete.Offersto lames
on Cambridge(01223)5A32&.
Canarrangetransport
r32
SocietyNews
Nrw
MnvrnERS or CouNCrL 1997
As A RESULT
oFTHEeetor held duringthe summet the followinghavebeen havebeen electedto serve on Council for a period of
4 years (a total of 86 | votes were c:st in the election, representing 21.5% of the members eligible to vote): Dr Ulrich Desselberger
Orni Thomos
(RegionolPublrcHeolth Loborotories,Combn'dge
and Oxford),Professor
GeorgeSolmond(Univercityof Conbridge)ond Proltessor
(Unlversityof Birningnom).A profile of Dr Desselberger appearedon p. I 16 of the November 1996 Quortefty.
oF MICRoBIoLocy
was during the first year practicalsof my Biochemistrydegreeat the
My rNrnar-TASTE
University of Oxford but I did not get hooked until the third year when we designeda mini project around
aureuswith Keith Dyke led to a DPhil
phageT5. My fourth year project on DNA replication of Staphylococcus
in the samelaboratorywithin the Unit for ChemicalMicrobiology.Studieson chromosomeand plasmidDNA
replication included the action of nalidixic acid and its effect on the fate of Okazaki fragments.However,a
NATO AdvancedStudyInstituteon PlasmidBiologyconfirmedmy interestin plasmids.It alsointroducedme
to many leadersin the field at that time - Mark Richmond, Naomi Datta, Roy Clowes,StanleyCohen, Julian
Daviesand Don Helinski, with whom I spent a period of post-doctoralstudy at UCSD, La Jolla,funded
initially by an MRC Tiavelling Fetlowship.There (in 1977-1979)I learnt about the new recombinant DNA
techniquesand genecloningand how powerfulthey werein allowingdissectionof all sortsof geneticsystems.
However,my interestin plasmidsin their own right (not just as vectors)was sealedat this time, as we
dissectedout the cisand trans-actingfactorsneededfor plasmid replication.
Professor
ChrisThomos
University of Birmingham
I joined the Departmentof Geneticsat the Universityof Birmingham in 1980under lohn Iinks. I found myself
yet againnext to peopleinterestedin Bacillussubtilis(JoelMandelstamin Oxford; |ohn Spizizenand Charles
Thomas in La Iolla; and now Derek Smith in Birmingham) and although it has never become my main
interest,this provided an opportunity for fruitful collaborationon Bacillrs genesas well as independent
work on rolling circlereplicationplasmids.Other collaborationshaveinvolvedCharlesPenn,Mark Baileyand
and variousindustrialcontacts.
BazJackson(bioenergetics),
My main interesthas remainedthe promiscuousIncP plasmids.From studieson replicationwe moved on
to control of replication genes,then plasmid partitioning and finally conjugativetransfer.We have spent
considerableeffort on sequencingthe completegenomesof two of the IncP plasmidsand we are now trying
to understandtheir organizationand regulation in the context of their completebiology and as vehicles
for movementof transposableelements.Our interestshavealso expandedto include ecologicalaspects,as a
result of EuropeanScienceFoundationsupport for a network (of which I am Secretary)to bring together
molecular biologists and ecologistsinterestedin plasmid-mediatedgene transfer.I have much enjoyed
organizinginternationalmeetingswhich stimulateplasmid biology.Microbiology is changingand so many
disciplinesneed to be integratedto give a completepicture. Helping to bring together contrastingviews
and facilitatingcommunicationbetweendifferentgroupsis important and worthwhile.
The support of excellentcolleaguesand a successionof gifted studentsand researchfellows has helped
to move my researchinto many unexpectedand exciting areas.SGM has playedan important role in the
developmentof theseyoung scientistsand I look forward to helping the Societyin all its diverseactivities.I
come onto Coqncil straight from being an Editor of Microbiologywhere handling the manuscripts and also
helpingto seethe journal through a period of greatchangeprovedvery satisfying.The new imagewhich |ohn
Freerbrought about servesus well and has rejuvenatedthe fournal. I do not anticipatequite so much change
in the Societyover the next few yearsbut I do look forward to serving in whatevercapacityis necessary.
In 1970,at 17,I went to StrathclydeUniversityto study Microbiology in E.O.Morris' departmentand joined
the SGM asan undergraduate.After a first in Microbiology I went to Warwick to study for a PhD with Sandy
of Rhizobium.However,after 3 yearsof Rhizobium,I wanted to work on the
Primroseon bacteriophages
geneticsof an organismthat behavedin a more textbook-likefashion and so there was only one choice,
Escherichiacoli. Despite my heinous crime of defection south of the bordet the Scotsforgaveme and I
was bloodlesslyrepatriatedas a postdoc in the Molecular Biology Department in Edinburgh to work with
Willie Donachie on the molecular geneticsof E. coli cell division. The three years in Edinburgh were very
stimul4ting,not only becauseof Willie's eclecticintellect,but also becauseI was sharing a lab with some
very talented individuals such as Joe Lutkenhaus(now Kansas),Hans Wolf-Watz (now Umea, Sweden),
thriller writer, Ken McClure) asthe
GrahamHatfull (now Pittsburgh)and Ken Begg(now the science/medical
'E.
coli-gy'reallyset the way I still think about biologicalproblemsand
lab'anchor man'.My three yearsof
pavedthe way for subsequentstudy of other bacteria.
Professor
George Solmond
University of Cambridge
Towardsthe end of my time in Edinburgh I was contemplatinggoing to the USA, to work on yeast,when
Ken Staceyappointedme to a Lectureshipin Microbiology in the BiologicalLaboratoryat the Universityof
Kent at Canterbury.At UKC I supervisedmy first research(MSc) studenton E. coli cell division geneticsand
startedteaching.Justover two yearslater,I returned to Warwick where I spenta productive and very enjoyable
13 years (as Lecturer,Senior Lecturer and Professor)under Roger Whittenbury's immensely supportive
I continuedthe E coli celldivisionwork but alsobranchedout into Erwinia,and latterly,Serratia.
stewardship.
During that time I had researchcollaborations in the Microbiology ResearchGroup with Crawford Dow
(Rhodomicrobium),
and Howard Dalton and Colin Murrell (methanotroph molecular biology) but, most
researchgroup.
importantly, my group shareda largelab with Dave Hodgson'sMyxococcusand Streptomyces
So,despitemy obsessionwith the enterics,I was constantlybeing educatedabout the perversebehaviourof
continued.on p. 133
more exoticbugs.
t33
SocietyNews
Eventually the volume of the
Erwinia work overtook the E. coli
work. We found ourselveslooking
at a spectrum of topics - the
molecular genetics of virulence
and phytopathogenesis,protein
secretionmechanisms,global gene
regulation systems, promiscuous
bacteriophages, anti-leukaemic
carbapenemantir--asparaginase,
biotics and quorum sensing(the
latter two involving productive
initially with
collaborations
Barrie Bycroft and Paul Williams
and subsequentlywith Gordon
Stewartin Nottingham). Almost all
of this work dependedon having
powerful genetic systems for
Erwinia that we had developed
over severalyearsby'tooling up'
our strains in the naive belief that
Erwinia was essentiallyan E. coli
"from a dysfunctional family" or,
perhaps,"earningan honestliving
in the field'l
My spell at Warwick was punctuated by a year's sabbatical in
which I spent six months at the
CelgeneCorporation (New fersey,
USA) working on chiral synthon
production by bacterial resolution
and six months in the CNRS labs
in Marseille, France working on
cellulasesecretionin Erwinia.
In 1996I moved to a new Chair of
Molecular Microbiology in the
Biochemistry Department in
Cambridge where I am still in
the processof re-establishingthe
group. We continue to work on
bacterial virulence, global gene
regulators,motility, protein targetand
ing,prodigiosin,carbapenems
quorum sensing in Erwinia and
Serratia,all underpinned by excellent genetic systems.Becauseof
our recent interestsin some novel
global regulatory genes we have
now been suckedinto Yersinia(we
loveenterics).But we also indulge
ourselvesfrom time to time and
work is now
further Pseudomonas
on the horizon.
In addition to serving on various
editorial boards over the yearsand
SGM Group committees (C&CS
and PB&MG) I haveco-organized
an SGM Group symposium on
protein targeting and am in the
process of setting up ahother
PB&MG meetingin Edinburgh.
Sincethe arrival, just over a year
ago,of my daughter (the adorable
in vivo-recombinant'munchkin' KathrynRebecca),Ihavehad little
time for any hobbies,exceptsleep.
But I have maintained my diverse
microbiologicalinterestsand I hope
to use these to make a positive
contribution to SGM Council.
SGM MEMBERSHIPSUBSCRIPTIONSI998
All members receivethe SGM Quarterly; in addition they may take any of the Society'sjournals.
ORDINARY MEMBER
f,3s.oo
Membership Subscription (inc. SGM Quarterly)
:
*:gii::ti:l*'.l::i:U:i:i'*'i::::::
:::
(us$6o.oo)
::
(us$1oo.oo)
Microbiology
f,s6.00
tcv
f,s6.oo (us$loo.oo)
f,1s.o0
Membership Subscription (inc. SGM Quarterly)
:::::
:::::::
i:i:ii:t'*'i::{:::
*eeli::*::*::'"
Microbiology
: : :::
::::::::::
:(US$ss.0O)
L28.00
f,28.00
IGV
(us$2s.oo)
(us$ss.O0)
neTES
wereagreedat the SeptemberAGM of the Society.Membersare reminded that
Tur Rrovl suBscRrprroN
their 1998subscriptionsare due for payment by I December 1997.
As in previous years,no journal or meetingsinformation will be despatchedto memberswho are in arrears,
and there will be no guaranteeof provision of back numbers of journals for members who pay their
subscriptionlate.
Payment by Direct Debit or Continuous
Credit
Card
Subscriptionnoticesweredespatchedduring October to all memberspaying by direct debit or by continuous
credit card arrangement.To continue your present status and journal requirements,no further action is
To changeyour membership statusor journal requirementsfor 1998,you should have amended
necessary.
your subscription notice and returned it to the Membership Office by la November 1997, otherwise the
subscription for your present category will be levied. However, if you have missed this deadline, your
amendednotice will be acceptedif it is submitted immediately.
Payment Against lnvoice
Invoiceswere despatchedduring October to all memberswho pay by this method. If you did not receiveone,
pleaseadvisethe Membership Office.
Subscriptions Waived for Unemployed
Members
As in previous years,subscriptions will be waived for unemployed members under the age of 35 who
are residentin the UK. If you are eligible and wish to benefit in this way in 1998,you should send a
signed statementthat you are currently unemployed to the Membership Office before 30 November 1997.
(Pleasenote that no increasein journal requirementswill be permitted.)
lncomeTax
Relief on Membership
Subscriptions
Members who are liable for UK income tax are reminded that their annual subscriptions to the Society
havebeen approvedby the Inland Revenueas qualifring for income tax relief.Any member who would like
further information or has difficulty in obtaining this relief should contact the Society'sExecutiveSecretary.
Airmail
Despatch of Quortedy and Meetings Information
All members resident outside the UK are offered the option of regular airmail despatchof the Quarterly
and meetingsinformation. There is a surchargeof f,6.00 (US$12.00)per annum for this service,payable
at the sametime as the annual membership subscription.Members who would like to start this servicein
1998should make the appropriatealterationsto their subscription invoice.
Any member who does not require regular airmail despatchesbut who expectsto be visiting the UK at
the time of a particular Societymeeting,may askfor the full programme of that meeting to be sentby airmail
assoon asit is available.Therewill be no chargefor this one-offservice.Requestsfor suchprogrammesshould
be sent to the Membership Office.
All members are reminded that for each Society meeting an outline programme and booking form are
included in the Quarterly published 5 months before the meeting, i.e. this issuecontains information and a
booking form for the Spring 1998meeting.
SGM Spring Meeting I998
The l4fth OrdinaryMeetingof the Societywill takeplaceat the University
of Nottingham
from Monday30 MarchtoThursday2 April 1998.
MAIN
SYMPOSIUM
(30-3 | March)
J.ALLEN (University of Lund)
l. ARMITAGE (University of Oxford)
Overview/ Compar ison w ith plants
Motility responses
towards light shown by phototrophic
I.L. SPUDICH (Houston)
bacteria
Archaealrhodopsinsusethe samelight-triggeredmolecular
switchfor ion transport and phototaxis signalling
MICROBIAL
REsPONsEs A.E. WALSBY (University of Bristol)
TOLIGHIANDTIME
Gasvesiclesand buoyancyin cyanobacteriainterrelations
P.HEGEMANN (University of Regensberg)
K. HELLINGWERF (E.C. SlaterInstitute,
withlight
How microalgaeseethe light
Negative phototaxis in photosynthetic bacteria
Amsterdam)
D. COVE (University of Leeds)
R.l. CODGELL (Universityof Glasgow)
M. PHILLIPS JONES(Universityof Leeds)
The role of light in the regulation of mossdevelopment
Photosynthetic light-harvesting
Light regulation of pigment-protein geneexpressionin
D. HODGSON (Universityof Warwick)
G. MANCINO (University of Rome)
S. GOLDEN (University of Texas)
T. ROENNEBERG (University of Munich)
D. LLOYD (University of Wales,Cardiff)
Rhodobacterspecies
Light regulation of carotenoidsynthesisin Myxococcus
xanthus
Responses
to blue-light in Neurosporacrassa
Circadian rhythms in cyanobacteria
Survival in a temporal world - the circadianprogram of
the marine unicellGonyaulax
Temporalorganization of the cell division cyclein
eukaryotic microbes
J. DUNLAP (Dartmouth Medical School,USA) The circadian regulatorysystemin Neurosporacrassa
Cloclcsin Drosophila
C. KYRIACOU (University of Leicester)
Cells & Cell Surfaces -
lApril
. lntrocellulor
pothogens:
entryondsurvivolin
thehost(Symposium)
ClinicalVirology -
l-2April
. Wruses
(Symposium)
ondneurologicoldrseose
Education -
30 March
. Sondwich
in microbiology
(Symposium)
courses
Environmental Microbiology
l -2 Ap ri l
. Eco2hysiology
pigments
(Symposium,
ofmicrobiol
including
workshopon Microbiol
responses
rodiotion
to UV-B
ond theeflectson the ozonehole)
Fermentation & Bioprocessing
Microbial Infection Physiology,
Biochemistry '
& Mo-l'ecularGenetic's
Systematics& Evolution -
Virus -
30-3 | March
. Towords
processing
meetlngthe needsof fermentotionond downstreom
the ideolEscherichio
co/lexpression
systernr
(Symposium)
30-3 | March
. lronondinfections
(Symposium)
| April
. Morphogenesis
ln filomentous
fungi(Symposium)
3f3 | March
. lmpoctofmoleculor
methodson fungolsysternotlcs
Society)
floint symposiumwith the BritishMycological
3 | March-2 April
. Theuseof virusvectorsfor thedeliveryond expression
ofgenes(Symposium)
30 March& lApril
. Eveningworkhops
For further informationabout Group Symposia,
see Newsfrom theGroups(pp, I aO- | a5).
SpecialWorkshop UKYouns Life Scientist of theYeai Competition
O F F E RE D P AP ER S
lApril (evening)
. Accessto microbiolgenetlc
resources
withinthe fromeworkof the Convention
of Biodiversily
3l March
. Sponsored
by Promego
r35
PnomEGAPnlzr CouPETtrtoN
To pRoMorE coMMUNtcAfloN
THe pntze scHEMEHAs BEENsETup gv PRor.4ecA
IN YOUNGSCIENTISTS.
EXCELLENCE
ANDTECHNICAL
SKILLS
,f,
-
'Jff"'f.f
Scientistof f
the Year I
I Award \
w
The judges,an exactinglot, were Group Conveners
Simon Baumberg,Martin Collins,David Hodgson,
MichelleFarris(Universityof Southampton)
Hilary Lappin-Scottand Malcolm McCrae,with Pat
global regulator
BIPA: a tyrosine-phosphorylated
Goodwin in the chair and John Ball representing
that mediatesbacterial responsesto host-defence
Promega.The new President,Howard Dalton, also
peptides
joined the panel. It is somewhat clichdd but true
Mark Emery(Universityof Leicester)
to say that selectingthe two winners was difficul!
Identification of a two-comPonent regulatory all of the presentationswere good, with splendid
systemdownstream of the Campylobacterjejuni
visual aids and able parrying of some tough
HTRA gene
questions by each contestant.In the end it was
down to matters of detail and Colum Dunne and
Carole-AnnReid(ScoaishAgriculturalCollege)
Michelle Farris were chosenas the two winners.
microllora
on
the
The fficts of dietary starches
After a break to enable the contestants and the
of the monogastriclargeintestine
audienceto attend the Fred Grffith ReviewLecture,
Elaine Cannell (Ludwig Institute for Cancer SueAlexander,a broadcastjournalist with the BBC,
Research)
gave a most entertaining and stimulating talk on
Cell cycleactivation by Epstein-Barr virus
ScieaceCommunication.Shestressedthat scientidts
should not be afraid to talk to the media and that
Colum Dunne (UniversityCollegeCork)
local radio presentedthe ideal medium to make a
Evaluation and genetic investigation of the
start in promoting scienceto the public.
ability of Strenotrophomonasmaltophila strain
W81 to confer plant protection against Sue'stalk was followed by a buffet at which John
Ball announcedthe winners of the PromegaPrizes
fungal pathogens
and presentedeachof them with
a cheque for L200. Michelle and
Colum will go on to represent
SGM for the Promega UK Young
Life Scientist of the Year '\ward
which is to be held at the Society's
spring meeting in Nottingham
next year. There they will be
competingagainstother Promega
from
the
Prize
winners
Biochemical Society, British
Societyfor Immunology and the
GeneticalSociety.
Contestants
Full details of the Promega
Prize Competition can be found
on the Promega UK website:
k
http://urvwv.euro.promega.com/u
MichelleFarris (left) and Colum Dunne (right) collect their Promega
Prizesfrom John Ball (centre).
Further information on SGM
rounds of the competition is to
be found in News from the
Groupson pp. 140-145.
STT,]DENT
SOCIETIES
SGMSPONSORED
LECTURSSCHEME
GneNrs ARE AVAILABLEto
support TWO lectures on
microbiological topics per
academic year at Student
Societymeetings.
A Student Society is eligible
for support if:
. It is run mainly by and
for students, postgraduates
as well as undergraduates.
The Society does not
have to be a Microbiology
Society, it can be a
Biological SciencesSociery
Biochemistry Society or
similar.
. It is based in the UK or
Republic of Ireland.
The invited speakers will
be reimbursed directly for
reasonablecosts of travel and
accommodation. However,
pleasenote:
. The maximum claim for
eachlectureis {,150.
. You can invite one speaker
from abroad or from
Ireland, but there can be no
increase in the maximum
claim for the lecture.
. Your Student Society can
entertain the speaker to
dinner before each Lecture,
and the costsfor the speaker
and ONE member of the
committee may also be
claimed and are paid
directly to the Society.
forms
Application
are
available from The Grants
Officeat SGM HQ.
0l l8 988 l82l
Tel.
Fax
0l l8 988 5656
Email grants@socgenmicro
biol.org.uk
r36
I oevnrv,Nc Fooo-eoRNE ParnocENs:
c TuroR,AL
IDEDLrnnrutru
A CotvtpurER'A
do not havethe facilities
T aboratoriesteachingmicrobiology often
l--rto carry out experimentson somepathogenicorganisms.In the
caseof dieticians,occupationaland environmentalhealth students
and other such peopleonly studying microbiologyas part of their
course,there is not alwaysenough laboratory time to investigate
and experiencethe wide range of micro-organismsinvolved in
Refreshercoursesor short courses,which are
food-borne diseases.
increasingin popularity,often involve studentswho are not using
microbiologicaltechniqueson a day-to-daybasis,yet need to have
understandingand appreciatethe work of the microbiologist.It
was with these studentsin mind that a computer-aidedlearning
'tutorial'
was written to endorse and add to the experienceof
isolatingand identifyingfood-bornepathogens.
The packagehasbeenwritten so that it can easilybe appendedto
The initial aim wasto cover
includeother organismsand techniques.
Campylobacterisolation and identification. Salmonella was then
added as the secondexampleto give an idea of the length of time
it can taketo isolateand correctlyidenti$' someorganisms.
At the beginningof the tutorial the studentis facedwith a food
sampleand a data sheet- this giveshints to the possibleidentity of
the pathogenby way of symptoms,type of outbreak,incubation
period, etc. There then follows an interaction to refresh the
user's memory on symptoms or incubation periods associated
with particularpathogens(further subtlehints!).
Most laboratory practical coursesare split into weekly sessions
and it is sometimesdifficult for the student to gain an understandingof the true length of time it takesto isolateand correctly
identifr bacteriafrom food. Thereforethe computer tutorial was
divided into'days'.As the student movesthrough the tutorial they
progressfrom one'day'to the next until they havesufficientevidence
to identifr the pathogen.On entry into the virtual laboratory(day I )
the studentis facedwith a menu of options.The studentcan then
click on thesetechniquesto'use'them in any order,revisitingthe
menu as appropriate.Once the student is satisfiedthat everything
necessary
has been done then they may progressto the next menu,
or'day 2'where more laboratorytestsmay be setup and resultsfrom
the previous day viewed. The student cannot take a blunderbuss
approach where they carry out every technique available and
inoculate every type of selectivemedium availableor the media
technicianand laboratoryaccountantwill be afterthem!
'MY WnloruHomr Ptce'
virus structure
T n 1994 I wanted to design a poster illustrating
I and function for distribution to secondaryschools.After visiting
severallocalschoolsand talkingwith teachersand sixth form science
studentsI was struck by the lack of high quality teachingmaterials
availablefor schoolscienceat all levelsin the NationalCurriculum.
While looking for illustrationsof viral structure for my poster
I was finding many of the availablefigures I wanted to use on
the Internet. There are many very comprehensiveguidesto viral
(not leastHIV/AIDS)
virus structureand viral diseases
classification,
availableon the Web.Unfortunately many of thesesitesare aimed at
postgraduatelevelbiophysicistsor MD PhDs and I was disappointed
by how few sites tried to convey recent advancesin biomedical
researchto an interestedgeneralaudience.
To provide a teachingresourceon viruseswhich could be regularly
updatedand expanded,Idecidedto learn hypertextmarkup language
(HTML) and write a web pageaimed at 9-13 year-oldsexplaining
what virusesare,how they work and how we seekto overcomevirus
infections.I haveaimed the contentof the pageat the 9-13 year-old
group, initially trying to cover topics in Keystage2 and 3 of the
NationalCurriculum.I would particularlywelcomecommentsfrom
on this aspectof the project.
schoolteachers
HTML is a good way to presenta lot of information as children
can follow visual imagesand explorevirusesfrom different starting
points. The virus web site has sectionson the history of viruses,as
Sometechniquesavailableto the user are inappropriatefor their
samples,or are inappropriate until isolated colonies have been
obtained.If theseare selectedthe studentwill be penalized.
As well asthe techniquesmenu the'Library'maybe accessed
at any
time and is divided into three main sections:Bacteria,Media and
Methods.Eachsectionsuppliesthe studentwith conciseinformation.
Symptoms,incubation periods,incidenceand pathogenicityare some
of the categories
coveredin the part of the library named'Bacteria'.
There is also a glossary button that supplies the user with
definitionsof the termsusedin the packagesuchasmicroaerophilic,
or brief descriptionsoi for example,Exeteragar.
EVALUATION
The packagealso allows for assessmentof students if the tutor
wishes.Thereare a number of waysin which the studentis assessed
throughout the packageand it is up to the tutor whether to make
use of some or all of the evaluatedsteps.The studentsthemselves
get to know how many answersthey got right first time and the
percentage
The student'sprogressthrough the
of correctresponses.
tutorial is written to a text file.
The assessments
include:
| . the student'sresponseto an interaction;
2. the techniquesused;
3. whetherthe identificationwas correct:and
4. the amount of time (and money) wastedby settingup unnecessary
tests- both the students'time in the laboratory and the virtual
mediatechnician'stime making up any extra media.
Authorwarewas used to write the tutorial packagewhich is easy
to get along with even for someonewith no experienceof writing
computer programs.Bitmaps do take up a lot of spaceand backdrops do slow down the overall responsetime. You can produce
fairly simpleCAL packages
with ease,if more complexend products
are desired then director movies and video link-ups can be
purchased/addedin. One great difficulty was to get the oxidasestick
to touch the agar plate gently - if the student tries to repeatthe
computertutorial in the lab,then they will most certainlygo through
the agar if not the petri dish! My only other problem was taking 9
months maternityleavejust aftergettingto grips with the software!
If anyonewould like to try out the tutorial packageor has any
queries or comments, pleasecontact Trudy Hartford on Email
[email protected]
or telephone0113 283 2600 ext 3912.
Dr Trudy Hartford is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Health and
Environment,LeedsMetropolitan University,LeedsLSI 3HE.
(currentlyPolio,Influenza
well as sectionson specificviral diseases
and HIV) and plenty of pictures of 3-D viral structures.I tested
the first version of the site on schoolteachersand pupils who
suggestedincorporating a glossaryof new words which can be
from the text and a virus quiz. Both of thesefeatureshave
accessed
beenincorporatedinto the current versionof My Virion Home Page
which can be found at http://www.path.ox.ac.uk/dg/
One valid concernis that not all schoolshave accessto the Web
and there are concernsover limiting Web accessonly to educational
sites.Most PCssold in the last2 yearsarebundledwith Windows'95
which includes Internet Explorer and trial versions of Netscape
Navigator can be downloaded from the Internet. Once either of
these browser software programs is installed on a computer My
Virion Home Pagecan be accessedfrom a floppy disc or a file saved
on the hard disc. I am very huppy for anyoneto download material
from my web site for use in making classroomteachingmaterials
booklet for distribution freeof charge
and I hopeto makea teacher's
with the web siteon a floppy disc.
I very much welcomeany comments,suggestions
or contributions
for this first draft of my web site from children, teachersand
microbiologistsand I would like to thank the SGM for their
generousfinancialsupport of this educationproject.
Dr David R. Greaves,Senior ResearchFellow, Sir William Dunn
School of Pathology, South Parks Road, Oxford OXl iRE
(Email david.greaves@p
ath.ox.ac.uk).
r37
rF he GeneralSecretary's
report of businessat fuly Council (p. 128)
I mentions Council's decision to bid to become the new
publisherof IJSB.Sincethen, there havebeen extensivediscussions
with the Editor of IJSB,ProfessorErko Stackebrandt,and with the
Bacteriologyand Applied Microbiology Division (BAM) of the
International Union of Microbiological Societies(IUMS). As a
result, an SGM bid was put before the IUMS ExecutiveBoard at
its meeting in Sydneyin late fuly. As this issueof the Quarterly goes
to press,agreementhas been reachedin principle that the Society
will becomethe publisher of IJSBfrom fanuary 1998.The formal
contractis now with the Society'ssolicitorsfor checking.
In the meantime,there is much to be done to preparefor the
new arrival. Dr Aidan Parte,one of the staff editors on Microbiology,
hasbeen appointedas ManagingEditor of IJSB.He is now deepin
the detailof planninghow the copy-editingand interactionwith the
voLuME4?'
'
JULY 1997
NUMBER3
Srop Pnrssl
hrrrmranoxa L I IURNALoF
GY
Svsrnutrt c BecrERroLo
scientific editors will be handled from Marlborough House, and
making improvementsin the look of the journal. With the Systems
Manager,Dr Duncan McGarva, he is making arrangementsfor the
for establishingan IfSB
necessarymanuscript-trackingdatabases,
home page on the SGM Web site and for all the intricaciesof
interactionswith the printers.
RichardNoble, SGM'snew FinanceManager,has the challenging
task of managingsubscriptionsfor 1998;an early move here will
be a mailshot to all 1997 subscribersas well as to potential new
takers.Detailsof subscriptionsand ordering information will also
be mounted on the SGM Web site.
Many of these activities involve extensiveinteractions with the
previouspublishersof IJSB,the AmericanSocietyfor Microbiology.
Arrangements are being made for them to provide SGM with
databaseinformation, and to ensure a secure transfer of papers
already accepted for the 1998 issues,or at various stagesof
considerationfor publication.
For the longer term, the Editor of IJSB,BAM, the International
Committee for SystematicBacteriology of the IUMS and SGM
Council are all in favour of an expansionof the scopeof the journal
to cover the increasinglyimportant aspectsof evolutionary studies
and molecular approachesto systematics.However, this will in
no way compromiseIISB'sstandingas the internationaljournal of
record for new taxa.
iltr*#:Ti:hhliil:ffi]:'ri'Tr#:I""
,'""t;;;,t:1i;ffi:i",
."',,ru,*,*lli;:,r
Ron Fraser
SGM ExecutiveSecretarv
been
A substantialnumber of papersin recentissuesof JGV have
(HPV). Theseviruses,
A concernedwith human papillomaviruses
of which there are over 70 types, are associatedwith a number of
different diseases,although their exact role in tumour formation
remainsunclear.There is currently much interest in the association
betweenHPV and other virusesand the medicalsignificanceof such
interactions.This report focusseson recentreports in IGV and other
publicationswhich have helped to clarifr the suspectedinteraction
virus (AAV), a virus which has
betweenHPV and adeno-associated
beendetectedin clinical samplesin conjunction with HPV.
AAV is a helper-dependenthuman parvovirus for which there is
no known pathogenicityand which requiresfactorssupplied during
co-infectionwith certainother virusesor under conditionsof genotoxicstressfor its replication.ln 1994,Tobiaschet al. (J MedVirol44,
215-222)published evidence,using PCR and DNA hybridization,
that AAV was present in the majority of uterine biopsiesand in
materialfrom spontaneousabortion.They concludedat the time that
genital tissue may constitute one of the natural sites for AAV
infection,little having been reported up till then as to the target
tissueof this virus. In 1996,Han et al. (Virus Genes12, 47-52) found,
againby PCR, AAV DNA in 50o/oof randomly sampled cervical
brushings.Theseresultstogetherwith other studies(Friedman-Einat
etaL,l ClinMicrobiol35,7l-78;Walzet al.,IGY 78,144l-1452)have
contributedto an emergingpicture of AAV as,albeit not exclusively,
link'which may well shedlight
a genitalvirus,an interesting'missing
on a questionfirst raisedover 20 yearsagoby a sero-epidemiological
studyconductedby Mayor et al. (Am I ObstetGynecol126,100-104).
In this study, which compared AAV seropositivitybetween cancer
patientsand controls, antibodies to AAV were found in 800/oof
normal adults but in only l4o/o of cervical cancer patients. A
study (Georg-Frieset al., Virology 134, 64-71) showed
subsequent
higherantibody titres againstAAV in controls comparedto cervical
HPVAND AAV IN IGV
P.Ogston
cancer patients. So, could infection with this virus actually confer
protection against tumour formation? Since then, AAV has been
shown in animal models to suppressthe growth of experimentally
induced tumours and in vitrl to demonstrate anti-transforming,
anti-proliferativeand anti-oncogenicpropertiesboth on viral and
cellular oncogenes.AAV inhibits the replication and oncogenicity
of its helper adenovirus and also that of both bovine and human
papillomaviruses.
Cervical cancerhas a strong associationwith certain HPV types,
especiallyl6 and 18,wherebybetween70 and90o/oof affectedtissues
contain integratedHPV DNA. One reasonableexpectationwould be
the presenceof the virus in the cervix if AAV is ableto affectcervical
cancer development.The PCR studies mentioned above have now
shown this. Il in addition, AAV infecting the cervix was to exert its
effect via a molecular interaction with HPV, another expectation
would be the finding of these two viruses co-infecting the same
tissue.Recentissuesof the JGV have carried articleswhich address
this question.In the June issueWalz et al. (78,1441-1452) showed
co-localizationof AAV-2 and HPV-16 in cervicaltissuesusing in situ
hybridization. They also presentedevidencethat expressionof HPV
genesin AAV-infectedtissuewas able to lead to at leastsome AAV-2
replication. The latter finding suggeststhat HPV belongs to the
group of viruses which provide helper functions allowing AAV
replication and, if substantiated,clarifies how AAV may interfere
with HPV infection and so hinder cervicalcancerdevelopment.
r38
Further substantiating the connections between genital tissues,
AAV and HPV is the recent report of Malhomme et aI. (78,
1957-1962).Tissuefrom uterus and spontaneousabortion samples
were analysedwith PCR. SinceAAV is so readily detectablein such
tissues,they looked for evidenceof helperviruseshaving contributed
to the establishment of AAV infection. Primers for adenovirus,
herpes simplex virus and cytomegalovirus- all known helpers for
AAV - failed to detect any sequencesfor these viruses, whereas
amongstsamplesfound to be positive for AAV DNA, 600lowere also
positive for HPV suggestingthat in the genital region, HPV may be
a natural helper for AAV. Although it is far from clear at present
whether or not this virus could havea direct usein cervical(or other)
cancer therapy, such studies highlight AAV as a potential key to
developingtherapeuticstrategiesand to an enhancedunderstanding
of HPV-mediatedcervicaldisease.
Aside from cervical cancer,the finding of AAV infection in the
genitalregion is linked with another issuetouched on by the findings
of Tobiaschet aI.,i.e.the presenceof high amountsof AAV DNA in
material from spontaneousabortion. The AAV replication protein,
Rep,was also found in the placentalportion of thesesamples.The
presenceof Rep suggestsreplication of AAV in placentaltissue,while
the additional finding of IgM antibodiesto the virus in one-third of
patientswith early miscarriageindicateseither reactivationof latent
infection or a re-infection. Although these results are suggestive,
especiallyasAAV hasalreadybeenlinked with earlyabortion in mice
(Botquin et al.,l CancerResClin Oncol1I9,24), no causativeeffect
can be establisheduntil data is availablefrom studieswith samplesof
non-spontaneous(elective) abortions. It seemspossible,however,
that human embryonic cells may be a particular target of AAV
infection, as shown by Botquin et al. for mice and as proposed by
Tobiasch et aI., allowing interference with embryonic/placental
development.A report by Dutheil et al. (JGV 78, 3039-3043)again
raisesthis possibility with the observation that severalestablished
human embryonic cell lines carry integratedAAV sequences.
AAV has long been considered a non-pathogenic virus. These
days - as understanding increasesabout its role in HPV-infected
tissueand as rapid and exciting progressis being made towards its
use as a vector for genetherapy - it would seemwise to ensurethat
this status is objectivelyand thoroughly examined and that results
are published in journals such as JGV.
MrcnoBIoLoGY-
accumulationof organic compatible solutes.The study of microbial
osmoregulationbecomestruly global when it is noted that persistent
irrigation of arid regionsworldwide leadsto salinizationof the soils.
plants,which could be engineered
One answeris to grow salt-resistant
genetically.For that we need to know the enzymic basisand genetic
control of the proteins and genesresponsiblefor compatible solute
biosynthesis.TWo papers address this problem. Galinski's group
( 143,I 141-l 149)havefocussedon the genesresponsiblefor ectoine
biosynthesis,demonstrating for the first time the osmoregulated
expressionof genesfrom a true halophile in a non-halophile,whilst
Le Redulier and co-workers (143, 1369-1379)have describedgenes
responsiblefor glycinebetainebiosynthesis.The latter opensthe way
for the genetic engineeringof metabolic pathwaysresponsiblefor
salt-tolerancein agronomicallyimportant strains of Rhizobium and
Sinorhizobium,crucial to the nitrogen fertility of soils.Both papers
'first'
for
represent breakthroughs in their field and another
Microbiology.
A striking aspectof those papers is that they not only illustrate
the extraordinarybiodiversity of the microbial world but also bring
fundamental insight to our understanding of how cells function.
This fact is well illustrated by a paper in the fuly issue from
Kjelleberg'sgroup on the starvation-stressresponse of Vibrio
(Listonella)anguillarum (143,2305-2312).This fish pathogen,used
to life in oligotrophic environments,has a remarkablecapacity for
surviving under carbon limitation for severalyears and, compared
with relatedcopiotrophs,possesses
a singularlydifferent responseto
stress.Its starvation responseseemsto be more self-contained,and
even the limited cross-reactivitywith other stressesis lost upon
prolonged starvation. This is quite different to the global type of
responsewhich has recently become such a byword for metabolic
regulation and environmentalresponsiveness.
This kind of ground-breaking paper is almost routine for the
reviews which feature at the beginning of each volume of Microbiology.On the theme of food and environmental responsiveness,
the reviewby Gordon Stewarton Challengingfoodmicrobiologyfrom
a molecularperspective(I43, 2099-2108) is a worthy example of
the genre, describing how modern, cutting-edge microbiology is
contributing to understanding microbial growth in foods. This is
a topic which has reachedthe forefront of public awarenesswith
some well-publicized outbreaks of food poisoning. So the review
is highly topical and describesthe use of lux gene technology to
detect pathogensspecificallyand to understandtheir life and death
processesin relation to food shelf-life.
Still on the subjectof food, in the sameissue,Per Einar Granum's
group describetheir finding that the enterotoxingeneof Clostridium
perfringensis on a transposableelement in type A food-poisoning
ExrnpMELYIxrpnESTING.. .
Nick Russell
project,togetherwith four other
\ tr f hen I embarkedon my PhD
Y V new recruits, I was presentedwith a choice to work on a
halophile,an osmophilic
psychrophilicbacterium,an archaeobacterial
yeast,a trypanosome or a gliding bacterium. All were regardedas
being'extreme'in their own fashion,althoughthe term'extremophile'
was not yet in vogue and it was not recognizedthat the halophile
belongedto a separatekingdom! I chosethe psychrophileand thus
beganmy love affair with the physiologicalfringesof microbial life.
Therefore,when I was askedto review some (personal)highlights
from recentissuesof Microbiologyitwas inevitablethat paperswhich
came immediately to mind were those featuring extremophiles.
I could find papers on all of them, apart from a glider, but there
were also extreme acidophiles and alkaliphiles,as well as hyperthermophiles to whet the extremophiliac'sappetite! I found the
April issueparticularly interesting,and you will seewhy...
For instance, to start by indulging my predilection for low
a paperby Bowman et al. (143,1451-1459)describes
temperatures,
methanotroph isolatedfrom a cold, salinelake
psychrophilic
a new
in Antarctica.Not only is it a newly describedbacterium, it belongs
to a new genuswithin the group I methanotrophs,which act as a
sink for methane and thus contribute to its global flux. Bearing in
mind that 70o/oof our world is cold and much of that is anaerobic,
the relevanceof suchbacteriato global warming and climate change
becomesobvious.
A large proportion of the cold parts of the world comprise the
deep oceans;both the deep water and the bottom sedimentsyield
barotolerant and barophilic bacteria, but we know little of the
physiologicaladaptationswhich bestow the ability to live at high
pressure. The paper by Chilukuri & Bartlett (143, 1163-1174)
compares the gene sequencesof the homologous single-stranded
binding proteins from four Shewanellaspecieswhich have a range
of pressureoptima from I to at least 680 atmospheres.Homology
models of these SSBproteins, derived from their base sequences,
suggestregions of the lroteins which could be responsiblefor the
property,the first time that such molecular detail
pressure-resistant
has been provided.
Cold environmentsare often salty and haloadaptationis a special
form of osmoregulation,a key feature of which is the intracellular
P. Ogstonis a postgraduatestudent in the laboratory of Dr P. Beard,
a IGV Editor. Theyare at the SwissInstitute for ExperimentalCancer
Research,CH- 1066 Epalinges,Switzerland.
t39
strains(143,2I09-2I 15).Suchenterotoxin-positivestrainsare rarely
found in natural isolations and in the laboratory frequently gain
or lose the property. These facts are more readily understood by
discoveryof the transposabilityof the gene,which pavesthe way for
molecular studies of the genetic differencesbetween animal and
human strains of the pathogen which have different IS elements;
the authors speculatethat these differencescould be due to the
heat shock experienced by human strains subjected to heat
treatmentin food preservationor preparation.
I hope that these high-quality papers on fundamental aspects
of food microbiology will stimulate others to use Microbiology as
the vehiclefor their work in this important and topical field - there
are few who are not interested in food and its safety!
The Stewart review was the transcript of the 1997 Colworth
PrizeLecture,one of severalsuch prestigiousawardsmade regularly
by the Society for General Microbiology. Another is the Kathleen
Barton-Wright Memorial Lecture and the May issue begins with
SteveOliver's talk on Yeastas a navigationalaid in genomeanalysis
(143, 1483-1487). Publication of the complete sequenceof the
Saccharomycescereviside genome was a seminal event, the first
eukaryotic genome to be completed. Oliver's review contemplates
the problem of decipheringbiological function from genesequence
data:he points out that whilst protein sequencesin modern public
data libraries might enable one to perform the trick of reverse
geneticsat the computer keyboard, the conclusions are only as
good as the accuracy of the deposited sequences!He makes the
plea that'wet' experimentsare still neededto provide a biological
explanationof the protein's role in the organism. Nonetheless,this
approachcan give insightsmuch more quickly than would otherwise
havebeen obtained tediouslyby the'function-first' route.
'problem'
has been the subject of recent discussionby the
This
Mirobiology Editors, who are being presented with ever more
manuscripts containing computerized analysis of deposited gene
(not necessarily
sequences
obtainedby the authorsof the manuscript),
which draw conclusionsabout biological function(s) of the proteins
purported to be encodedby the basesequences.
Those conclusions
may contain considerableinsight and suggestquite novel interrelationships or metabolic pathways. For example, Saier's group
has used this computer-based approach to analyse families of
homologous proteins which mediate secretion of a variety of
complex carbohydrates, enabling them to make some general
functional and structural predictions which can be tested experimentally (143,2685-2699). A very large body of 'wet' experiments
would be needed to test all of the hypothesesproposed. Clearly,
in this instanceit would be unreasonablefor the Journal to insist
on that kind of experimental evidence prior to acceptancefor
publication, when generaltheoriesare being proposed.However,in
other caseswhen perhapsmore specificand limited claimsare made,
the decisionmay be much more difficult. It would be interestingto
hear of readers'opinions on this matter, becauseas the databases
grow and more sophisticatedprograms become available for
analysis,the numbers of such paperswill continue to rise.
An appropriate place for such discussionis in the Microbiology
Comment section of the Journal, something which I feel is not
usedto its capacityby the readership.That is surprising considering
the vitality of the newly relaunched Iournal with its new format
that has proved so popular and has been matched by a rise in the
quality of the paperspublished asjudged by readers'comments and
demonstratedby the steadyincreasein citation index. Returning to
my opening theme,'yes' the Journal does cater for all the extremes
of microbiology in a manner which provides core information
for the scientific community. The pun of the title is true, and
as I complete my stint as an Editor I shall enjoy observing the
anticipatedcontinued successof Microbiology.
Professor Nick Russell,Microbiology Laboratories, Department of
Biological Sciences,Wye CoIIege, Wye, Ashford, Kent TN25 sAH
( T e L . 0 1 2 3 3 8 1 2 4 0 1 e x t . 4 1 1 ; F a x 0 1 2 3 3 8 1 3 1 4 0 ;E m a i l
n.r [email protected]).
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(1[9))NEW BRUNSWICKSCIENIIFIC
\v
Cells & Cell Surfaces
Bradford, 6-8 fanuary | 998
The Group is organizing a symposium on Pathogenicity and
Chemotherapyof AnaerobeInfectionsjointly with the MI Group. Full
details can be found in the Programme Booklet enclosedwith this
issue.
Nottingham, 30 March-2 APril 1998
The Group will be holding a one-day symposium on Intracellular
Pathogens:Entry and Survival in the Host.It is being organizedby
Iain Sutcliffe ( Sunderland) and Andrew Johnston (UEA). Confi rmed
speakersinclude David Russell (St Louis, USA), mycobacteria and
Leishmania; Rick Titball (CBDE, Porton), intracellular pathogens;
PaolaBonfante (Turin, Italy), bacteria inside arbuscular mycorrhizal
fungi; Nick Brewin (UEA), rhizobia as bacterial symbionts- There
wilf be opportunities for both offered papers and posters which
should be sent to the Convenerby 15 December1997.
Convener:
Dr Alan E.Wheals
Schoolof Biology& Biochemistry
SouthBuilding
Universityof Both
Both BA2 7AY
T e l , 0 I 2 2 58 2 6 8 2 6e x t 4 2 7 8
F o x0 1 2 2 58 2 6 7 7 9
Emollbssoew@oth,oc.uk
Warrrick, 5-7 January, 1999
There will be a one-day symposium on Microbial-Host Interactions
at Mucosal Surfacesorganized by Howard |enkinson (Bristol) and
Iain Sutcliffe (Sunderland). The symposium should relate closely to
the Respiratory Pathogetlssymposium being organized by other
Groups at this meeting. There will be opportunities for both offered
papersand posters.
Group Convener
Howard Jenkinson,Professorof Oral Microbiology at the University
of Bristol, will be taking over as Convener from Easter 1998.
ClinicalVirology
Convener:
Royaf School of Medicine,4-6 fanuary 1998
Dr
PhilipP Mortimer
The Group is holding a joint meeting with the European Clinical
Divlsion
PHLSWrusReference
Institutions
in
is
Infections
day
Virology Group. The topic of the first
LoborotorY
Heolth
Public
Centrol
and speakers include B. Rentiere (Liege), Varicella zoster virus;
Avenue
6l Colindole
J. Walker-Smith (London), Gastroenteritis;E. Whimble (Houston,
NWq
5HT
London
Texas), Respiratory infections; A. Tilzey (London), Blood-borne
T e t . 0 t B l 2 0 04 4 0 0
(Cambridge),
Blood-borne
viruses patients and staff; T. Wreghitt
F o x0 l 8 1 2 0 0 I 5 6 9
viruses and dialysisunits. There will alsobe a debateonThe Carriage
Care.The
in
Health
Work
With
of Btood-borneVirusesis Incompatible
second and third days of the meeting will cover gastroenteritis,
evasion of immune response,quantification of viruses and BSE.
Offered papers are welcomed on these topics and other topics of
interest.Detailsshould be sentto Dr fenny Best([email protected])
before I November 1997.
Nottingham,30
March-2 APril 1998
The Group is planning a two-day meeting:a one-daysymposium on
Virusesand NeurologicalDiseaseand one day of offered papers.The
organizer is Dr W. Irving ([email protected]). Offered
paper titles should be sent to the organizeror the Convener no later
than 19 December 1997.
Future Meetings
A further meeting is being planned for fanuary 1999 at Warwick
when the Group will be combining with the MI and S&E Groups to
present a symposium on RespiratoryPathogens.
Education
Nottingham, 30 March-2 APril | 998
Peter Wyn-Jones (Sunderland) is organizing a symposium on
Sandwich kaining in Microbiology; this will include contributions
from speakers in industrS the public sector, recently graduated
sandwich studentsand University supervisors.We aim to cover a wide
range of issues,notably how to attract new sandwich placements,
how potential employers can start placements,financial aspectsand
assessment.Feedback from ex-students will be an important
feature of the symposium and a round-table discussion is planned
to follow the main talks to give all concerned an opportunity to
exchangeideason this important area of microbiology education.
EastAnglia, 8-10 September 1998
Alan Jacob(Manchester)is organizinga symposium onlnnovations
in the Teachingof Molecular Biology.It is anticipated that this will be
a joint symposium with the Genetical Society.Teaching at school,
Convener:
Dr PeterWyn-Jones
Schoolof Heolth Sclences
Universityof Sunderlond
5R/ 35D
Sunderlond
T e l0 1 9I 5 l 5 2 5 2 0
Emoil
p eter.wyn-jones@underl
ond.oc,uk
t4l
undergraduatearnd postgraduatelevels will be addressed,and
topics will include school practical molecular biology, 'virtual'
'dry'
practicalsand
undergraduateresearchprojects:design and
value,affordablepracticals,the useof CAL programmesfor lecture
and practicalteachingand teachingvideos.
Future Meetings
Further meetings are planned on A National Curriuilum for
Microbiology,UndergrndunteResearchProjectsand Microbiologyfor
the Non-nticrobiologist
Followingthe Dearing Report there will be
lots of interestin developmentsir-rscienceeducationover the next
few years,frorn students,teachersand membersof the public. The
SGM EducationGroup aims to keepyou abreastof thesechangesin
rnicrobiologyand how we can match our students'learning with
their needsfor their futures.
Group Convener
Group Convenerfor 3 years,
Ianet Bunker,who hasbeenEducatior-r
has reluctantlydecidedto relinquishher post.We thank Janetmost
sincerelyfor the hard work shehasdone in keepingus all in line and
are pleasedthat she will continue as a committee member. The
committee agreedthat PeterWyn-Jones(Sunderland)would take
over as Convenerfrom September.
Fermentation &
Bioprocessing
Bradford, 6-8 January 1998
The Group'ssymposiumat this meeting,in collaborationwith the
S&E Group, is entitled Screeningfor New TherapeuticAgents.Full
detailscan be found in the accompanyingProgrammeBooklet.
Nottingham,30 March-2 April 1998
The Group will be holding a two-day meetingentitled Towardsthe
ldeal E. coli Expression
Systent:MeetingtheNeedsof Fennentationand
DownstrearnProcessing,
organizedby Bo Kara on behalf of the
Group. The aim of the symposiumis to discusshow upstream(to
fermentation and downstreampurification) strategiesin protein
'getting
expressioncan facilitate
it right first tirnel Industrial and
academicexpertswill discussvectordesign,control and modulation
of expression,
host engineering,
secretion/periplasn'ric
accumulation,
vector stability, influence of upstream strategieson downstream
processingetc. The invited papersare as follows:B. Kara (Zeneca),
I n t r o d u c t i o n ; M . U h l e n ( S t o c k h o l m ) ,U p s t r e a m s t r a t e g i e sinfluenceon downstreamoperations;M. Dreyfuss(Paris),TTRNAP
Functionality/problems/optimization;
N. Weir (Slough),The ideal
expressionsystem for antibody fragments in E. coll expression,
humanization,folding; R. Grissharner(Cambridge),Developn-rent
of expressionsystemsfor the production of membrane proteins;
G. Sawers (Norwich), Alternative novel promoter systems:
exploitationfor E. coli expression;J. Chaudhuri (Bath) Expression
of extremophilic proteins in E. coli; D. Summers (Cambridge),
Plasmid stability; G. Georgiou (Texas), Upstrearn strategies
accumulationof soluble protein/protein engineering;A. Topping
(Zeneca), Plasmid stability/large-scalecontinuous culture;
D. Thatcher (Keele), Production of DNA for gene therapy. If
you are interestedin offerirrga short paper/poster(postgraduate
students are particularly encouraged)then pleasecontact the
Conveneras soon as possible,but no later than 19 December1997.
Abstractswill be requiredby 19 February1998.
E a s tA n g l i a , S - 1 0 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 9 8
We are planning a one-day meeting on Mycelial Ferntentatiorts
organizedby Dave Langleyon behalf of the Group. There will be
an opportunity to present short papers/postersand if you are
interestedpleasecontactthe Convenerin the first instance.
Future Meetings
The conrmitteeis planning a two-day meetingon Archneain 1999.
The symposium will be organizedby Rod Herbert on behalf of
the Group. More details will appear in a future issue of the
Quarterly. The committee would welcome suggestions from
any SGM member for topics of symposia within the area of
fermentation and bioprocessing.Pleasecontact the Convener or
any committeemember.
Convener:
Dr RegR.England
Deportmentof AppliedBiology
Untversrty
of CentrolLoncoshue
CorporottonStreet
PresronPRI 2HE
T e l0 1 7 7 28 9 3 5 1 3
F o x0 1 7 7 28 9 2 9 2 9
Emotl [email protected]
Environmental
Microbiology
Nottingham,30 March-2 April 1998
This will be a hvo-day meeting on the Ecophysiologyof Microbial
Pigments,including a half-day workshop entitled Microbial Responses
to W-B Radiation and Effectsof the OzoneHole. The two main topic
headings are Ecophysiology of photosynthetic processes and
Community ecophysiologyunder light regimes.The Group organizer
is David Wynn-Williams (British Antarctic Survey) who will be
speaking about Strata and light/UV Antarctic endoliths. The other
speakersand topics will include: J. Overmann (Germany), Pigmentation of photosynthetic sulphur bacteria; D.-P. Hader (Germany),
Phycobilins and accessorypigments in cyanobacteria; I. |oint
(Newcastle), Pigments and phytoplankton speciescomposition in
the North and South Atlantic; R. Castenholz (USA), Scytonemin as
a cyanobacterial UV-protectant in the field and laboratory;
H. Edwards (Bradford), Raman spectroscopy of lichen pigments;
L Ellis-Evans (British Antarctic Survey), Strata and light/
UV Antarctic freshwater cyanomats; A. Buma (Belgium), Vertical
migration of phytoplankton; and A. Oren (Israel),Discoloration of
red salt lakes (halobacteria). There are still some spacesavailablefor
anyone wishing to present a paper or a poster. Pleasecontact David
Wynn-Williams ([email protected]) if you r'equire
further information.
Convener:
Dr HrlaryM, Lappin-Scott
Department of BiologicolSclences
ExeterUniversity
HotherlyLoborotories
PrinceofWoles Rood
Exeter EX4 4PS
Te|0l 392 263263
Fox0l 392 263700
Emoil
er.oc,uk
H.M.Loppin-Scon@exet
East Anglia, 8-l0 September 1998
and Indicator
The programme for this Group meeting on Biosensors
Organismsis nearing completion. The topics to be covered include
Biosensors- an introduction, In situ biosensors- applications,Bioluminescentbiosensorsfor ecotoxicity monitoring, GFP for monitoring microbes in sludge, Sensor design, Biosensors for monitoring
community structure and Current and future perspectives for
biosensor commercialization. The convener of this meeting, Mark
Bailey ([email protected]), would like to hear from
anyone who wishes to present a paper or poster. Postgraduatesare
especiallyencouragedto participate.
Future Meetings
Further meetings are already being planned for L999 when the
topics will be Detection of Bacteria in Natural Environments and
Survival of Pathogensin the Natural Environmenf. Further details of
thesetwo exciting topics will appear when available.The committee
alwayswelcomes ideas for future meetings.
Microbial Infection
Nottingham, 30 March-2 April 1998
A two-day symposium on Iron and Infectiorzis being organized by
Paul Williams (Nottingham) and Julian Ketley (Leicester).Speakers
will include P. Williams (Leicester),Iron and infection'in animals;
D. Expert (Paris), Iron and infection in plants; A. Cockayne
(Nottinghant), Staphylococcal iron transport and regulation;
N. Cianciotto (Chicago),Intra- and extracellulariron requirements
of Legionella pneumophila; C. Ratledge (Hull), Siderophoremediated iron transport in mycobacteria; R. Evans (London),
Structure and function of transferrins; A. Schryvers (Calgary),
Tiansferrin receptors of Gram-negative bacteria; A. Smith (Kansas
Cttf), Haem and haem-binding proteins and bacterial infections;
K. Postle (Pullman, USA), Energetics of TonB-dependent iron
transport; M. Vasil (Denver), Iron-dependent generegulation. There
will be an opportunityto present offered papersand posters.The MI
Group's nominee for the Promega Prize competition will be chosen
from the offered papersand posterspresentedat this meeting.If you
wish to be considered for this competition, then you should inform
the organizerswhen you submit your title. Those who plan to submit
general posters but who want to be considered for nomination by
the Group should send their titles to the organizers.Pleasesend titles
and abstractsto one of the organizersby 15 December1997.
Leicester, l-2 July 1998
The Society has agreed to co-fund a series of meetings jointly
arranged by the MI Group and the Microbiology Section of The
Pathological Society.The first of these meetings will be held at the
Pathological Society meeting at the University of Leicester.
Registration forms can be obtained from the SGM Meetings Office
or from The Pathological Societp 2 Carlton House Terrace,London
SWIY 5AF.The meeting will take the form of a one-day symposium
Convener:
ProfessorPeterAndrew
ond
Deportmentof Microbiology
lmmunology
Universityof Leicester
Building
MedicolSciences
PO Box 138
UniversityRood
LeicesterLEI gHN .
T e l0 l I 6 2 5 2 2 9 4 1
F o x0 l l 6 2 5 2 5 0 3 0
[email protected]
r43
on Prospects
for Non-microbialAntimicrobialsfollowed by a day of
offered papers. Our co-organizer is Peter Andrew (Leicester),to
whom titles and abstractsof offered papers and postersshould be
sent by I April 1998.
Warwick, 5-7 January 1999
A two-day meeting on Respiratory Pathogenswill be held. This
meeting will be held jointly with the S&E and CV Groups. The MI
Group organizer is Tim Mitchell (University of Glasgow). Please
contact him if you have any suggestionsfor topics or speakers.
Pleasesend titles and abstractsof offered papersand postersto the
organizerby 30 September 1998.
Edinburgh, l3-16 April 1999
A two-day meeting on Evasion of the Immune Responseis being
planned by Petra Oyston (CBD, Porton Down) and Brian
Henderson (EastmanDental Institute). Pleasecontact one of them
if you haveany suggestionsfor invited speakersand titles.
Future Meetings
Food-spoilageand Food-borneDiseasesis being consideredas the
topic for the next joint meeting with The PathologicalSociety in
Autumn 1999.Our organizeris Ian Poxton (Edinburgh); he will be
huppy to receive suggestionsfor invited speakersand titles. Ideas
for symposium topics and speakersfor future meetings are always
welcome. Pleasecontact the Convener or any committee member.
Physiology,
Biochemistry&
MolecularGenetics
Bradford, 5-8 January 1998
The Group will hold a symposium on Post-transcriptionInitiation
Controls of GeneExpressionon Tuesday6 lanuary. The symposium
organizer is Simon Baumberg (Leeds). Full details are in the
accompanyingProgrammeBooklet.
Nottingham, 30 March-2 April 1998
The Group will hold a symposium on Fungal Growth and
Morphogenesison WednesdayI April. The organizer is SueAssinder
(Bangor). The speakerswill include Iohn Doonan (Norwich), Neil
Gow (Aberdeen), Reinhard Fischer (Marburg), Tony Trinci,
(Manchester),Oded Yarden( Jerusalem),Manfred Schliwa(Munich)
posters
and Tim Carver (Aberystwyth).The Group will be assessing
for inclusion in the Promega Prize at this meeting. Qualifring
by our
candidatespleaseidentiff which postersare to be assessed
judging panel when the abstract is submitted to Marlborough
House. Posters do not have to be directly relevant to any of the
Group's symposiato be included in the assessment.
EastAnglia, 8-10 September I 998
on
The Group will hold a'symposium on VersatilePseudomonads
Tuesday/Wednesday8/9 September.The organizer is Dieter Haas
(Lausanne).The speakerswill include John Govan (Edinburgh),
Mike Vasil (Denver), Wim Quax (Delft), Mark Bailey (Oxford),
Huw Williams (London), Peter Williams (Bangor), Paul Williams
(Nottingham), Rob Drew (London) and Christoph Keel (Lausanne).
Offered contributions are requestedfor inclusion in the symposium
and asposters.Pleasesendtitles and abstractsto the Convener.Abstract
forms can be requestedfrom the Conveneror Marlborough House.
Edinburgh, | 3-16 April 1999
The Group will hold a symposium on Regulation of Complex
Processesin Bacteria at this meeting. The organizer is George
Salmond (Cambridge).
Leeds, 7-9 September 1999
The Group will hold a symposium on Molecular Machines:Mobile
Protein Complexesin Micro-organismsat this meeting. The organizer
is Liz Sockett(Nottingham).
Future Meetings
The Group Committee is always receptiveto suggestionsfor topics
for symposia, workshops etc. within its remit from any SGM
member. Please contact the Convener or any member of the
Group committee.
Convener:
Dr DavidA, Hodgson
Deportment of Biologicol
Sclences
UniversityofWowick
CoventryCV4 7AL
T e l0 1 2 0 3 5 2 3 5 5 9
F o x0 1 2 0 35 2 3 7 0 1
Emotl [email protected] oc.uk
lrish Branch
Dubfin City University, S-9 January 1998
A symposium on Microbesas VaccineDelivery Vehicleswill be held
at Dublin City University.The programme is as follows.
Thursday 8 lanuary: Dr F. Bowe (lmperial College of Science,
Technology and Medicine, London), The use of live attenuated
Salmonellastrains as carriers of heterologousantigens to the
mucosalimmune system;Dr A. Mercenier(Institut Pasteurde Lille),
Development of Lactic Acid Bacteria as live vehiclesfor mucosal
vaccination; Dr I. Wells (Department of Pathology,University of
Cambridge), Vaccine delivery by recombinant lactococci; and
postgraduatepresentations.
Convener:
D r Y a r t i nA , C o l l i n s
Doharlrnont
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nf
Rpl[n<t
Newforge
Lone
Be/fost
BTq5PX
T e 0l | 2 3 22 5 5 3 1 4
F o x0 1 2 3 26 6 8 3 7 6
[email protected]
Friday 9 lanuary: Prof. W. Lubitz (University of Vienna), Bacterial
ghosts as carriers of foreign antigens;Prof. B. Rima (The Queen's
University of Belfast),Viral vector vaccines;Dr K. Mills (St Patrick's
College Maynooth), Adjuvants and delivery systems for new
generationvaccines;and postgraduatepresentations.
A prize will be awardedfor the best postgraduateoral presentation
and posterpresentation.For further information contactDr Michael
O'Connell, School of Biological Sciences,Dublin City University,
Glasnevin,Dublin 9 (Tel. +353 I 7045000;Fax +353 I 7045412;
Email [email protected]).
Systematics &
Evolution
Bradford, 5-8 January 1998
'Topical
The S&E Group is hosting a one-and-a-half-day SGM
Special Symposium' in Bradford on the subject of Biology
of Exploitable Bacteria in the Genus Rhodococcusas well as a
collaborativeevent with the F&B Group - a two-day symposium
Screening
for New TherapeuticAgents pleaseseethe accompanying
ProgrammeBooklet.
Nottingham, 30 March-2 April 1998
At this venue,the Group is holding a collaborativesymposium with
the British MycologicalSocietyentitled lmpact of MolecularMethods
This two-day symposium will focus on the
on Fungal Systematics.
microfungi with invited speakerscontributing in the following
areas:Overview of fungal phylogeny; Key examples of evolution
of major groups and evolution of metabolism in fungi; Genetic
variability/ phylogenyof fungi causingDutch Elm disease;Genomic
fingerprinting techniques in the study of fungal diversity;
Characterization,identification and detection of important fungal
groupings. If you can offer a short paper or a poster on a topic
relevant to our theme, then pleaseforward your proposal with a
title and draft abstract to the Convener as soon as possible,but
before l5 December 1997.
Warwick, 5-7 January 1999
At this venuethe Group is planning a collaborativetwo-day meeting
with the MI and CV Groups on the subjectof RespiratoryPathogens.
If you are able,then pleasethink about offering a short paper on this
theme or a poster on a relevanttopic. Pleaseforward any proposals
with a title and draft abstractto the Conveneras soon as possible,
but before 15 September1998.The deadline for finalized abstracts
will be 19 November 1998.
E d i n b u r g h ,l 3 - 1 5 A p r i l 1 9 9 9
The Group is in the early stagesof planning for a two-day joint
symp-osiumwith the EM Group on Detection of Bacteria in the
Natural Environmenrduring this Eastermeeting.Developmentswill
appearin future issuesof the Quarterly.
Future Meetings
The Group is alreadyplanning symposiainto 2000 and further into
the next millenium. We think that useful topics for future Group
symposia could include subspecific classification/identification
and the impact of lateral genetransfer on systematics.However,we
are alwayshuppy to acceptideasfrom members,so do pleasesend
any ideas for symposia, workshops or relevant activities to the
Convener over the next few months, or contact any committee
member and we will discuss your ideas at our next committee
meeting in fanuary.
Convener:
Dr Grace Alderson
Dennflmentof Btomedtcol
Sciences
I lniver<iftt
nf RrnrlfnrA
Brodford
BD7 IDP
Tel 0127438356 4
F o x : 0 1 2 7340 9 7 4 2
rodford.oc.uk
Emotl g.olderson@b
t45
Virus
Nottingham, 30 March-2 April 1998
The Virus Group has organized a symposium entitled The Use of
Virus Vectors
for the Delivery and Expressionof Genes.The symposium
will be divided into three sessionsdealing with the following
topics. (i) Viruses for the expressionof genes:B. Rima (Belfast),
Paramlxoviruses;L. Enjuanes (Madrid), Coronaviruses;I. ]ones
(Oxford), Baculoviruses;
G. Sutter,Poxviruses.(ii) Virusesas vaccine
vehicles:G. Smith (Oxford), Poxviruses;G. Wilkinson (Cardiff),
T.M.A. Wilson
S. Inglis (Cambridge),Herpesviruses;
Adenoviruses;
(Dundee), Plant viruses.(iii) Viruses in gene therapy: M. Brown
D. Curiel
Retroviruses;
(Glasgow),Herpesviruses;
D. Miller (Seattle),
(Birmingham, USA), .Adenoviruses;N. Myzcyzka (Gainesville,
USA), Parvoviruses.There will be oPen papersat this meeting and
those wishing to make presentationsshould send titles and a short
abstract to the new Group Convener (see below) by Monday 15
December 1997.Four eveningworkshopswill also take placeat this
meeting: Herpesviruses(organizer J. Stewart, Dept. of Veterinary
Pathology,Royal Dick VeterinarySchool,Edinburgh), Adenoviruses
(organizer E. Blair, Dept. of BiochemistrS University of Leeds),
Hepatitis C (organizer D. Rowlands, Dept. of Microbiology'
University of Leeds) and Influenza Virus (organizer W. Barclay,
Dept. of Microbiology, University of Reading).Those interestedin
taking part in any of theseworkshopsshould contact the respective
organizer.
Belfast, 2-4 September 1998
The Group will be organizing a joint symposium with the Irish
Branch entitled Mi crobi al N europ athogenesis, sepat atefrom the Mai n
Society meeting. There will also be open PaPer sessionsat this
meeting. Further details of the meeting will appearin future issues
of the Quarterly.
Virus Group Committee
As a result of a postal ballot, four new membershavebeen voted on
to the committee,theseare: E. Blair (Leeds),R. Everitt (Glasgow),
A. Lever (Cambridge) and T. Wileman (Pirbright). Three members
of the Committee reach the end of their 3-year term of office in
1997.Theseare I. Jones(Oxford), V. Mautner (Birmingham) and
P. O'Hare (Oxted). The Convenerwould like to thank them for all
the work that they have done on behalf of Societymembersduring
their term of office.The Conveneralso reachesthe end of his S-year
term of offi ce in 1997and will be replacedby GeoffreySmith from the
Sir William Dunn School of Pathology,Oxford (Tel. 01865 275521;
I wish Geoff
Fax 01865 275501;E-mail [email protected]).
in their effortsin the coming years.
and the committeeeverysuccess
Convener:
N4alcolm
A. McCrae
Pr^ofessor
Depoftmentof Btologtcol
Scences
ofWowtck
Universtty
CoventryCV4 7AL
523524
Tet.0t203
F o x0 | 2 0 3 5 2 3 5 6 8512 3 7 0|
o.
Emotl n [email protected]
wotttvtck.oc.uk
Book Reviews
Recombinant Gene Expression Protocols.
Methods in Molecular Biolog;Vol. 62
EditedbyR.S.Iuon.
Published
by Humano Press(1997).
Us$74.s0
pp.st2
Recombinant Protein Protocols: Detection and
lsolation. Methods in Molecular Biology,Vol. 63
ISBN:
0-89603-339-2
This book describesa range of techniquessuitable for protein and
peptide analysis.It is divided into a number of sectionseachdealing
with a specific area of protein chemistry, e.g. quantification,
electrophoresis, immunochemistry etc. The procedures are
explainedin an unambiguousstep-by-stepfashion and are therefore
suitable for those researcherswho are entering the field of protein
chemistry for the first time or for those more experiencedworkers
who are looking for an alternative slant to a problem. Although
there are a small number of chromatographic protocols described
throughout the book I feel it would have been better to confine
these to a separatesection dealing solely with chromatographic
techniques.This is neverthelessa very useful compilation and a
worthwhile purchasefor any library.
Cathy Coulter,The Queen's University of Belfast
Toward Anti-Adhes:on Therapy for Microbial
Diseases.Advancesin Experimental Medicine and
Biology,Vol. 408
Editedby l. Kohane & l. Ofek.
Published
by PlenumPress(1996).
Editedby R.S.Iuon.
Published
by Humono Press(1997).
pp.470
EditedbyJ.M.Wolker.
(1996).
Published
byHumanoPress
pp.832
Us$89.50
ISBN:
0-89603-333-3
This latest addition to the Methods in Molecular Biology series
extends their excellent reputation for providing information and
protocols which are accessibleand proven in the laboratory.
Whateveryour geneof interest,the 37 chaptersin this book coverthe
most common and popular meansof faithfully expressingthat gene
into recombinant protein. Experienceoften showsthat this process
can be unpredictable,and it is pleasingthereforethat a wide range
of alternative experimental approachesand systemsare available
to choose from. It is surprising though that only one chapter is
devotedto insect expressionsystems,sincethis is often an easyand
productive route. Nevertheless,for the novice,or more experienced
scientist, this book representsgood value, and will be a useful
addition to the laboratory office bookshelves.
Martin f. Page,GlaxoWellcome
Us$74.s0
The Protein Protocols Handbook
ISBN:0-89503-400-3 Us$89.50
This book is a useful companion to the above,and providesextensive
laboratory protocols for the detection of recombinant proteins,
albeit in rather select applications. Excellent coverageis given on
the use of various reporter proteins and the application of tagged
proteins.The chapterson detectionof recombinantprotein by in situ
procedures,are some of the best I have seen.From the title of the
book though, some readersmay be disappointedthat there are not
focused chapters on the multitude of essentialprotein immunoprecipitation and blotting techniques.Instead,the emphasisis on
applications of recombinant proteins, in situations which can be
widely and effectivelyapplied.So,although not as comprehensiveas
the title may suggest,this book still providessomeexcellentprotocols
for recombinantprotein analysis,predominantlyin biologicalsystems.
Martin f. Page,GlaxoWellcome
Biological and Environmental Chemistry ol DMSP
and Related Sulfonium Compounds
M.D.Keller& 6.0. Kirsr
Editedby R.P.Kiene,PI Visscher,
(1996).
Press
Published
by Plenum
pp.430
ISBN:
0-305-45306-l
us$t20.00
This is an essentialbook for people working in the area of sulfur
compounds in the environment and should be in all institutional
libraries becausethe processescoveredare important and of worldwide occurrence.The book is a collection of peer-reviewedpapers
contributed to the First International Symposium on DMSP
(dimethylsulfoniopropionate) held in Mobile, Alabama in 1995.
There are contributions by all the establishedworkers in the field. It
is well indexed,well presentedand not asscrappyand heterogeneous
as such books can sometimes be. The topics covered are mainly
analyticaland chemical/microbiological,and emphasizethe key role
of DMSP in the global sulfur cycle.I was particularly interestedin
the papers on metabolic pathwaysof DMSP degradation and the
properties of DMSP lyase. The book highlights the enormous
progress in this area since Frederick Challenger wrote his classic
book on sulfur biochemistry in 1959.
Peter J. Large,Universityof Hull
pp.288
ISEN:
0-305-45397-5
This book, which is a report of a seminarheld in Israel in the spring
of 1996,provides an overview of microbial adhesion.This area of
research,which is achieving increasing recognition as reports
of multiple drug-resistantstrains continue to rise, is built on the
reasonablepremise that micro-organisms need to be lodged in
particular sites in their hosts to bring about the changeswhich we
would term disease.Being the report of a conferencewith over 40
presentedpapers and abstractsthere is a great variety in both the
technologies used and the organisms studied. The methods
employed range in complexity from advanced molecular biology
techniques for the determination of the structure of bacterial
adhesionfactorsto plate culturesfor the monitoring of the reduction
in the incidence of bacteriuria following oral administration of
cranberryjuice. It may prove useful to laboratoriesconsideringnew
projectsrelating to anti-adhesiontherapy.
Alan Trudgett,The Queen's University of Belfast
Cytoplasmic Fate of Messenger RNA. Progress t n
Molecular and Subcellular Biology,Vol. l8
Editedby Ph.Jeanteur.
Published
GmbH& Co.KG(1997).
by Springer-Verlag
DMI 98.00liisI ,445.401sFr
I 73.00
pp.224
ISBN:3-540-5l,368-4
This is an excellentshort collection of articles focussing on posttranscriptional control of mRNA. In particular, the biochemistry of
RNA metabolism is well dealt with. The order in which chapters
appear could be improved to remove minor duplication and
improve clarity, and a brief overview of RNA degradationwould be
helpful for the non-specialist,as chapters focus in depth on the
control of specificgenefamilies.It was disappointing not to seeany
discussionof post-transcriptionalcontrol of viral mRNA, although
there is a short sectionon interferon, and the function of ribozymes
was also not alluded to. Despite these omissions, this is a highly
recommendedlittle book for thoseworking on RNA metabolism,and
a very useful addition to undergraduateand postgraduatelibraries.
Maria Zambon,Virus ReferenceDivision,CPHL, Colindale
Ii
Noveinber | 997
SGMQUARTERLY
Book Reviews
Bi o te ch nology I nt er na ti o n a l Y e a rb o o k 1 9 9 7
n with
in ossociotio
Publishing
by Cortermill
Published
Ltd( 1997).
Phormo
CONNECf
p p .2 8 6
/ S B N/:- 8 6 0 5 7 - 1 9 8 - 5
{t85.00
T h i s b o o k l i s t s c c l r r p a r t r i e sw o r l c l w i c l e , b u t l t r a i n l y i n t h e E U
(including the UK) and North Antericit, which are preclot-t-rinantly
e n g a g e d i n b i o t e c h n o l o g y r e s e a r c ha l t c l d e v e l o p l u e n t f o r p h a r n i a c e u t i c a lp u r p o s e s .C o m p a n i e s a r e l i s t e d a l p h a b e t i c a l l yb y n a n - r et;h e r e
is a geograpl-ricalinclex. Eacl-rentry provicles f-ittanciitltrnd corporate
d i r t a , i r n d d e s c r i b e st h e a c t i v i t i c s o f t h e c o l t t p i ' t t t y i,t s a l l i a n c e sl v i t h
o t h e r o r g a r r i z a t i o r - t as n d p a r t i c t t l a r l i n e s o f r e s e a r c h b e i n g c a r r i e d
o u t . P r o d u c t s a t n e a r - n t a r k e t s t i r g ea r e l i s t e d . A s t h e b o o k a p p e a r s
to be targeted nrainly irt the businesscotrtnunity, it is unlikely to
b e w o r t h t h e p r - r r c h a s ep r i c e f b r i n c l i v i d u r a ls c i e n t i s t sa r n d c e r t a r i n l y
not for SGM rrenrlre rs irs lriury of the cotlpirnies included are llot
working in the fleld of microbiology.
Janet Hurst, External Relations Office
E s c h e r i c hi a c o l i : M e c h a n i s m s o f V i r u l e n c e
Editedby M. Sussmon.
Press(1997).
University
Published
by Combridge
100.00
{65.001us$
pP.63e
/SB N0:-5 2l -4 5 3 61-5
Over the last ygnl Eschcriclia co/i has hardly ever left television screens
and newspirpersirs a top story in Britatin attcl in Japirn.Irt the USA it
played an imprortant role in the Presidential caltrpaigt-tirs a problett-t
reqr.riringrlrgent solution by the executive.All this conles, of cottrse,
f r o m t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f a f ' e w c l o n e s - p a r t i c r , r l a r l vO l - 5 7 . C U P r l l u s t
t h e r e f o r e b e c o n g r a t u l a t i n g i t s e l f o n c o r n r r i s s i o n i n g M a x S u s s m a nt o
persuade a grolrp of nearly 40 clistinguisl'reclexperts to contribr-rteto
rr r-norlograph on E. coli as a p:rthogen of humans. Its 2l chapters
i n c l r - r c laeu t h o r i t a t i v e r e v i e w s c t nE . c o l i i n f e c t i o n i n m a n a n d i n f a r m
r u r i m r r l s ,a n d o n t h e r e l a t i v e l y n e g l e c t e d f i e l d o f t h e o r g a n i s m
as a mer-nber of the normal flora. Virulence fhctors, the mechanisn-t
o f c l i s e a s ea, n d c e l l u l a r a n d i r n m u n e r e s p o n s e sr e c e i v e e x h a u s t i v e
cover.rge. As a topical and tl'roror.rgl-rcompendiurn of an ever
growing freld I cor-r-rnrend
this volurne rvholeheartedly.
H u g h P e n n i n g t o n ,U n i v e r s i t y o f A b e r d e e n M e d i c a l S c h o o l
Life ltself. Exploring the Realm of the Living Cell
by N. Orme.
8y 8. Rensberger.lllustrotions
Published
by Oxford UniversityPress(1996).
pp.290
US$30.00
/SBN:0- I9-5 10874-4
Tlie only realcriticismI haveof this book is the title,which I fbund
human life at the cellularlevel.
rathermisleading.
It is actr.rally
abor"rt
Tl-reautl-roris a sciencejor-rmalistwho wrote a seriesof articlesfor
Postarfierirttendinga summerschoolat WoodsHole:
the Wasltittgtott
into this book. The style is
have been trarnsformed
those errticles
relentlessly
metaphoricalbut he introdr,rces,
explair-rs
and then uses
nruchof the langr-rage
of moderncellbiology.It is a valianteffbrt to
bring modern cell and nrolecularbiology to tl-regeneralpublic's
irttention.The chaptersbr.rildupon each other, br-rtcould be reerd
separatelyfbr those lvitli specificinterests.Tl'rereare rnistakes,of
collrse,br.rtthey erreunir-nportantbecausethe airn of the book is to
introclucethe lay-readerto the molecularworld erndI believeit
in doir.rg
that.I liope it will be widelyread.
succeeds
DaveRoberts,Natural History Museum
*""0,ffi
Makingsenseolscience - chirdren's
Poo, You
ond the
Potoroo's Loo
A numbertwo
bestsellerl
David Bellamy
Illustrated by Mic Rolph
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organichumus that helps keep the soil clean and fertile' Flumans have
sewageworks, but still durnp billions of tonnes of unrefined poo into
theseas,
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fSBN: | 85578 096 I 32 pagesf6.99, ltlembers L6.29October 1997
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BRAIN
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Steven Rose
and Alexander Lichtenfels
Illustrated by Mic Rolph
\fhat a mess,what a wasre! One-third of all the world'.s productive
soilsare turning into deserts.They could be diverse farms, with
animalsliving rnore narural lives, surrounded by forests and wetlands.
Thenthe poo cycle would operate properly.
ISBN:| 85578095 X 32 pages(6.99, Hembers {6.29 October 1997
I5"1, discount for four or morc MSOS titlcs
Steven Rose & Alexonder Lichtenfels
by Brion Bett; Sotellite
Fever by Mike
P o i n t e r ; L i g h t U p Y o u r t i f e b y D o v i d P h i l l i p s ;T h e S p o c e
Ploce by Helen Shormon (96 99 eoch, Members96 29)
Microbes,
Bugs ond Wonder
Drugs by Fron Bolkwill ond
M i c R o l p h w i t h V i c t o r D o r l e y - U s m o r( 9 1 2 9 9 , M e m b e r s! l O O O )
Full detoils owcriloble ot
hnp: / / vvwvwv.portlondpress.co.uk
147
Book Reviews
Problem-Orientated C Ii n ical M icrobiology and
lnfection
&W.L lrving.
ByH. Humphreys
(tee6).
by ChurchillLivingstone
Published
pp.t 5 8
il 7.50
This book is written for medical students,but contains sufficient
detail to be of interestto a much wider readership.In addition, those
involved in teaching medical microbiology may find the case
historiesa useful basisfor tutorials.
Tim Boswell,Public Health Laboratory,
Birmingham HeartlandsHospital
Biology -A
By ElioSchaechter.
Press
(1997).
Published
byHorvordUniversity
pp.280
ISBN:
0-674-44554-6
il 5.50HIB
I 4-9
ISBN:
0-443-049
This book coversthe syllabusof clinicalmicrobiologythrough a serres
of casehistories.Eachcaseis followedby questions,with further inforThe aim is to coverthe principles
mation being revealedasnecessary.
of investigationand managementof patientswith infection, and the
format works well. Information of a broader nature is provided during
discussionof the cases,giving the book a surprisinglycomprehensive
coverageof community- and hospital-acquiredinfections.The book
contains useful appendicesand is well indexed.One criticism is that
questionsand answersare printed on the samepage,with a tendency
for one'seyeto spot the diagnosisbefore fully consideringthe case.
Plant Molecular
f n the Company of Mushrooms. A Biologist'sTofe
Laboratory
Manual
Editedby M.S. Aork
GmbH & Co.KG (1997).
Published
by Springer-Verlog
The title of this book might lead one initially to suspectthat herewe
haveyet another field guide to the identification of mushrooms.Not
so! What we have is an unusual and exciting foray into the world
of mushrooms and mushroom hunters. This is a delightful book,
written with enthusiasm,passion and humour. Elio Schaechter,a
microbiologist by professionis also a naturalist whose ability to tell
a tale and at the sametime impart scientificinformation through his
anecdotalstyle of writing is very refreshing.This book (the text of
which is interspersedwith line drawings and which includes some
striking colour photographs at its centre) would make an excellent
gift (or personalpurchase)for any naturalist,but will be of particular
interestto the amateur collector of fungi as well as the professional
mycologist.A gem of a book, representingexcellentvalue for money.
VickiTariq,The Queen'sUniversity of Belfast
Spi ru Ii n o plotensis (Arth ro spiro): P hysi o Iogy,
Cell-Biology and Biotechnology
EditedbyA.Vonshak
(1997).
& Froncis
Published
byToylor
pp.233
t49.95
ISBN:0-7484-0674-3
DM t 20.00t65875.00lSFrI 06.00
pp.529
ISBN:3-540-58405-6 This compendium of 1t chaptersby 15 contributors coversbasic
information on Spirulina as well as on the mass cultivation of this
organismunder variousoutdoor conditions.A wealth of information
"Not another lab manual" I hear you cry. Yes,I am afraid so, but
is presentedand an attempt is made to take theory into practice.As
it must be statedclearly at the start that this is quite a good one. It
statedthroughout the papers,"increasedoutdoor growth ratesis the
coversthe principles behind the major techniquescurrently usedby
An effort is made to try and clarifr the
key to economic success."
a plant molecular biologist and provides step-by-stepprotocols for
complexity of factors interacting in controlling output rates from
eachtechnique.The book is divided into a number of sectionswith
large-scalebioreactors. Unfortunately many factors still need
titles of: Genomic DNA isolation and cloning, cDNA cloning and
clarification and most of the chaptersend with a list of unknowns
characterization,and Mapping and geneticengineering,which clearly
and further researchneeds.The contribution on the experienceof
indicate the types of chapterscontained within each section.All of
one of the major commercial undertakings makes interesting
the chaptersare well written by people active in the field who can
generalreading,but little in-depth detail is given.
guide the readerthrough the methods,including the possiblepitfalls.
I was very disappointedin the layout of the book, as it was hard to
Although not comprehensive,this book makesessentialreading for
'see'the
actual methods amongstthe text. A bookivell worth buying
those interestedin Spirulina. For the commercially minded, it does
if you are involved in plant molecular biology.
not offer a readyrecipefor an enterprise,but it will lead the way.The
Gary Foster,Universityof Bristol
appendix contains valuable information on i.a. methods, culture
conditions and culture collections.
JohanU. Grobbelaar,Botany and Genetics,UOFS,
Transport Processes in Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic
Bloemfontein,South Africa
Organisms. Handbook of Biological Physics,Vol.2
H.R.Koback& J.S.Lolkemo.
EditedbyWN. Konings,
BV(1996).
Science
by Elsevier
Published
Electrophoresis:The Basics
ISBN:0-444-82442-l ByD.M.Hawcroft.
NLG485.00lUS$303.25
PP.956
Press(1996).
Published
by IRLPressot OxfordUniversity
One stated need in the preface of this new Handbooksseries is
to "bring some order to the growing complexity in Biological
Physics".The 33 chaptersof volume 2 nicely contribute to this goal
by presenting a great diversity of transport systemsin a, mostly,
integrated way. Chapters either cross-referenceeach other or are
complementaryin the transport system,techniquesor model system
investigated.It follows from this that a broad variety of techniques
(e.g. molecular biology, protein crystallography, fluorescence
spectroscopnNMR) and diversity of model systemsare presented.
This illustratesnicely the importance of (i) multidisciplinary studies
and (ii) the comparativeapproach in which microbial (prokaryotic
and eukaryotic) systemsplay a fundamental role. A minus? Well,
not all of the taxa mentioned in the text are indexed.Interestingly,
all authors from cited papers are indexed.Definitely a book (the
whole series?)for researchinstitutions to possess.
Robert P.Hirt, Natural History Museum
i l 2.99
pp.ts4
ISBN:
0-l 9-963563-3
This is the best introductory text on electrophoresisthat I haveseen.
The author has steeredclear of detailed protocols, concentrating
insteadon aspectsof the theory of electrophoresisthat are directly
relevant to the practical applications of the technique. The style is
informal and very readable. The information provided allows
informed choice of the appropriate technique, support medium
and staining method. As well as being an ideal undergraduatetext,
giving background theory, referencesand further reading,this book
provides a useful practical introduction to MSc and PhD students
who lack a biochemical background.It would also be useful to any
researchernewly embarking on an electrophoretic study. A book
which no molecular or biochemistry laboratory should be without.
Anne Kaukas,TheNatural History Museum
Book Reviews
The Molecular Medicine ofViral Hepatitis.
Mo lec ular M edic a l Sc i e n c e S e ri e s
& Al.Zuckermon.
Edited
byTJ.Horrison
& SonsLtd(1997).
byJohnWiley
Published
pp.27
t
t40.00
ISBN:
0-47l-96995-6
The publication of this book is extremely timely and I am very
grateful to the Editors for its compilation. All of the most interesting
recentdevelopmentsin hepatitisvirology havebeenat the molecular
level,indeedwithout the tools of molecularbiology we would still be
looking for hepatitis C and G and the development of assaysfor
hepatitis E would havebeen much delayed.
The authors of each chapter are those who have themselvesmade
significant contributions to our understandingof the molecular
biology of the hepatitis viruses, so scientific accuracy and the
inclusion of recentwork is assured.
I am pleasedto havemy own copy and am sure I will be referring to
it regularly over the next few years.This compilation is an essential
purchasefor all institutions with an interestin viral hepatitisranging
from university departments,to clinical liver units and diagnostic
laboratorieswhere much of current routine diagnosticwork is now
carriedout using moleculartechniques.
ElizabethBoxall,Public Health Laboratorn
BirminghamHeartlandsHospital
High-Pressure Effects in Molecular Biophysics and
Enzymology
D.B.Northrop& C.A.Royer.
EditedbyJ.L.Markley,
(1996).
Press
by OxfordUniversity
Published
{75.00
pp.3e6
ISBN;0-I 9-509722-X
Analysesof high pressureeffects in biological systemshave been
made from two perspectives:(i) physiology of deep-seaorganisms
and (ii) analysisof biochemicalreactionsas a function of pressure.
This book is written from the second perspective.The data are
up-to-date and comprehensive,including structure of biological
molecules, binding and catalysis,and molecular interaction and
recognition. The book requires standard knowledge of physical
chemistry and is suitablefor post graduatestudeqtsor researchers.
The authors describe key papers, simply answering the questions
"Why is high pressure applied?" and "What questions are to be
answered?"in their introduction. This could help researcherswho
'pressure'
as a key parameter in their own
intend to introduce
latest data included revealan author who
the
In
addition,
systems.
has much experience of working in the field of high pressure
bioscienceand biotechnology. I would recommend this book for
both personalor institutionalpurchase.
FumiyoshiAbe,The DEEPSTARGrouP,
fapan Marine Science&TechnologyCenter
being pitched;the chapteron use of slime moulds for recombinant
and indeed,
glycoproteinproductionhasbeenwritten by enthusiasts
the system is a most powerful one for analysis of proteins that
naturally reside in the surface membrane. But heterologous
eukaryotic production systemsfor glycoproteinsinclude the yeasts,
which only get mentioned in the last sentenceof the chapter.The
opportunity for a critical comparisonhasbeenmissed.
ChrisThurston,King'sCollegeLondon
Tissue ln Situ Hybridization: Methods in Animal
Development
ByT.Jowett.
Published
bylohnWiley& SonsLtd(1997).
pp.128
t34.95
I-l 6403-8
ISBN:0-47
Determining which cellsexpressa particular genecan give important
cluesto genefunction. This requiresvisualizingthe distribution of
RNA transcriptswith cellular resolution;tissuein situ hybridization
is the only suitable method. The basic methods are part of the
technicalrepertoireof most laboratories,but there havebeenmajor
refinements in recent years. This laboratory manual presentsthe
stateof the art. Extremelydetailedprotocols,plus technicaldiscussion,
are givenfor non-isotopicdetectionof transcriptsin tissuesections
and whole mounts, for simultaneousdetectionof two transcripts
and for detection of RNA plus protein. Not included are protocols
for subcellularlocalizationof RNA, the use of radioactiveprobes or
the relatedtechnology of hybridization to chromosomes.Although
this manual is aimed at developmentalbiologists,protocolsshould
be easilyadaptedto other systems.Anyone wishing to examinegene
expressionin situ is likely to find this manual extremelyuseful.
Peter Holland,Schoolof Animal and MicrobialSciences,
University of Reading
The Molecular Repertoire of Adenoviruses.
CurrentTopics in Microbiology and lmmunology,
V o f s | 9 9 1 1 , l 9 9 l l l& 1 9 9 / l l l
&PB6hm.
ByW.Doerfler
GmbH& Co.KG(1995).
Published
by Springer-Verlag
Vol.l99ll
pp.280
l8l .00
DM 192.00165I
,40I .51lsFr
ISBN:
3-540-58828-0
Vol.l99lll
174.00
DMI 85.001o5I
,350.50|sFr
ISBN:3-540-58829-9
pp.278
Vol.l99llll
pp.3t0
187.00
DM 198.00165I
,445.401sFr
ISBN:
3-540-58987-2
ISBN:/-898298-04-l
These volumes are an update of The Molecular Biology of
(19834). As with all such publications,certainshortAdenoviruses
comings are apparent.Articles by leading figures means that each
volume contains much useful and well-written material. However,
in the coveragewhich detractsfrom the overall
thereis an unevenness
value. For example, Vol. III contains six chapters describing the
role of EIA in transcriptionalregulation and the control of gene
expression.Obviously there is considerableoverlap and repetition.
EIB merits only half a chapterin Vol. III, but is alsoconsideredin a
further chapterin Vol. II.
If you want a practical introduction to bioreactor cultivation of
Caenorhabditiselegans,bioconversionsfor the production of antioxidant and colourant flavinoids,and caseinand peptidedegradation
in lactic acid bacteria, this is your book. Do not expect equal
treatmentof the topics,however,asthere are over 60 pageson the use
of geneticallyengineeredmicrobes as reagentsfor organic synthesis
whilst other
(from a chemist'sperspective)and over 40 on cellulases,
chaptersare lessthan a dozen pages.Watch out also for what you are
Despitethe criticisms,thesebooks are essentialreferenceworks for
adenovirologistsand contain much invaluable information. A final
caveatregardsthe price: three slim volumes at approximatelyL64,
L62 and !66, respectively,is beyond the means of most individuals,
so they are Iikely to be found only in well stockedlibraries.It is a pity
that the publisherscould not haveproduced a cheapersinglevolume
edition.
Rogerf .A. Grand,CRC Institute for Cancer Studies,
Universityof Birmingham
Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering Reviews,Vol.l4
ByM.P.Tombs.
(1997).
Published
by lntercept
pp.423
{95.00+ p&p
BookReviews
Mi cro b i a l Div er s it y in Ti me a n d S p a c e
Foryour bookshelf:
U. Simidu& K.Ohwada.
Editedby R.R.Colwell,
(1996).
Press
by Plenum
Pubfished
us$7s.00
pp.t72
DEGREES
OFFREEDOM
ISBN:
0-305-45
194-8
Livlngin DynomlcBoundories
bvAlonDMRcyner,
(Uniuercityof Both,UK)
Backin 1994,themeetingfor which this book is the proceedingswas
probably very exciting.With a title of this scope a mere 172 pages
would be hard-pressedto do the subjectjusticeand, sadly,the Editors
have failed to lend any coherenceto some individually interesting
papers.The book itself is full of typographical errors. Ed Delong
observesthat "Imicrobiologists] havea long way to catchup with the
rest of biology'l Of all the Diversity in Time and Spacebooks now
available,this volume simply underlines that statement. Erko
Stackebrandtsays,in his summary of the workshop discussion,that
microbiologistsare still in the simple descriptivephaseof our discipline, but you would only guessthat from a few of thesechapters.I
cannot recommend that you buy this book, but it is worth getting a
copyof whicheverchaptersareof interest,and watchout for the typos.
DaveRoberts,Natural History Museum
"Slowly, a new genre
of writing is emerging
that recognises both
partnership and
competition as crucial
to underctaMing
evolution...Degrees
of Freedom is a
lascinatingnew
acldition to this
debate".
New Scientist
1-86094-037-4 hbk 328pp Mar 1997 E27
Available from bookshops or direct from the distributor:
World ScientiticPublishingCo Ltd.
57 Shelton St. London WC2H gHE
Tel:0171 836 0888 Fax: 0171 836 2020
E-mail:[email protected].
uk
WorldwideWeb: http:/Arwur.wspc.com.sg
Commercialisation of Transgenic Crops: Risk,
Benefit and Trade Considerations
^
tlti
-
ImperialCollegePress
PM.Waterhouse,
G.Evons& MJ. Gibbs.
Editedby G.D.McLean,
(1997).
Publishing
Service
Published
by AustolianGovernment
pp.408
Degrees of Freedom. Living in Dynamic Boundaries
ISBN:0-644-47549-8
Aus$45.00
Cropsmodified by recombinantDNA technologiesare in the marketplace(e.g.carnationswith'new' colours) and very substantialtrial
acreages
are devotedto cotton carrying Bacillusthuringiensisgenes.The
ecologicalimpact and durability of these approachesis uncertain
and the statutory framework for regulatinggeneticallymanipulated
organismsand food products is under review.This book is notable
for its scopd and timeliness.Trade'freedoms' facilitate technology
penetrationinto reluctant markets and insights are given into how
(multinational)commercial companiesmanage'their' intellectual
property.The book is also exceptionalin providing patent lawyers'
opinions about what, when and how intellectualproperty might be
protectedwhile reminding scientistsabout their rights and alsotheir
responsibilities.
Scientistswill benefit from knowing more about the
legalscaffoldingthat surrounds their work, evenif the relevantlaw is
presentlyfar from clear.The book is not expensiveand coversmuch
that is new and thought-provoking. I strongly recommend it.
J.lanCooper,NERC Instituteof Virologyand
EnvironmentalMicrobiology
lmmunobiology and Pathogenesisof PersistentVirus
Infections
Editedby B.W.J.Mohy & R.W Compons.
Published
by HorwoodAcodemic(1996).
us$34.00| t20.00| ECU26.00 pp.25 8
ISBN:
3-7185-0522-4
This book containsan odd mixture of subjectslooselyconnectedby
viral pathogenesis
and immunity. There are I I chaptersfrom invited
contributors with topics ranging from the epidemiology of retrovirusesto T-cell memory in LCM virus infection. In addition to
featureson lentiviruses(HIV and visnavirus) there arethree chapters
two chapters
dealingwith measlesvirus persistenceand pathogenesis,
on hepatitisB virus and a very useful chapterbringing togethersome
of the recent developmentson viral haemorrhagicfevers.Somewhat
this on
surprisinglyonly one chapteris devotedto the herpesviruses,
immunity to varicellazostervirus. Overall the standardof presentation
is high, but inevitably with books of this type the information is
quickly dated,particularly in fast-moving areassuch asimmunological
memory. At L20 it is a reasonablygood buy and studentsof virology
will find the contentsa useful referencesource.
Anthony Nash, University of Edinburgh
ByA.D.M.Rayner.
Published
(1997).
by lmperiolCollege
Press
pp.3l 2
{ 27.00
ISBN:l-85094-037-4
This is an engaging excursion in ecological thinking. Dr Rayner
explainswith virtuosity the extraordinary properties of the fungi of
the woodland floor and relatesthis to a range of other phenomena,
suchashow humanslearn.The envelopingideais that the boundaries
of organismsand other biological entitiesare more elusivethan they
seemat first. This is both thought-provoking and entertaining.It is
an ambitiousundertaking,becauseit is written with the intention that
it will be accessible
to a readerwith little or no scientificknowledge.
For a scientist,the text is not diminishedby the necessary
explanations
of some (or evenmany) familiar materialsand phenomena(e.g.the
structure and mechanismof replication of DNA). It is nevertheless
quite aggravatingin many placesbecausethe author advocatesan
holistic approachto scientificdiscoveryand interpretation,in defence
of which he missesno opportunity to besmear"the reductionist
approach".In so doing, the constraints of logic get scant regard.
Thus, "A fundamental reductionist assumptionis that life must have
had a definable starting point." Such statementsare to my view
both untrue and of little value in advancing understanding of
contemporarylife. I feel,consequentlythat they do little to help the
flow of exposition in an otherwiselively and interestingtext.
ChrisThurston,King'sCollegeLondon
BooksReceived
Therapeuti c Gui del i nes i n P aedi atri c Infecti ons
Editedby S.Nodel,R.Heydermon
& N. Klein.
Published
by Chopman
& Holl(1995).
t9.99
Bacteria in Biolog;
4th Edition
pp.s2
Biotechnology
ISBN:0-4l2-78430-0
and Medicine.
By P Singleton.
Published
by JohnWiley& Sonsltd (1997).
t18.99
pp.403
ISBN:0-47l-97468-4
National Cell Sorting
Workshops
Muki-Centre, 24 February I 998
loint meeting of the SGM
Clinicol Virology Group ond
Europeon Group for Ropid
Yirol Diognosis:
Nosocomial infections
Royol Societyof Medicine,
5-l lanuory 1998
Biology of Exploitable Bacteria
in the Genus Rhodococcus
Brodford,G8 lonuary 1998
Contact: Royal MicroscopicalSociety,
37138St Clements,Oxford OX4 IAJ
(Tel. 0 | 865 2487 68; Fax 0 | 865 79 1237;
Email [email protected])
Microscopy of Interfaces Joint EMAG/RMS Meeting
London,27 Februory1998
Society,
Contact:RoyalMicroscopical
Oxford OX4 IAJ
37138St Clements,
(Te|.01865
248768;
Fax01865791237;
[email protected])
M i c r o b i a l R e s p o n s e st o L i g h t
and Time
Nottinghom,30 Morch-3 April 1998
Joint meeting of the SGM
Microbiol lnfection Group ond
the Microbiology Section of the
Pothologicol Society:
Prospects for Non-microbial
Antimicrobials
U nive rsity of Leicester,
l-2luty 1998
,foint rneeting with The Geneticol
Society - o symPosium to mork
the retirement of Professor Sir
David Hopwood FRCS:
Portrait of an Organism:
The Genetic Analysis of
StrePtomy ces coelicolor A3 (2)
Biology
Universityof EostAnglia,
8-10 September1998
Behaviour of Pathogens in the
Environment
Worwiclg 5-8 lonuory 1999
Contact:MeetingsAdministrator,
House,Basingstoke
SGM,Marlborough
Wood,Reading
Road,Spencers
R G 7I A E( T e l . 0ll8 9 8 8 1 8 0 5 ;
Fax0l l8 9885656;Emailmeetings@
hap://www.
socgenmicrobiol.org.uk;Web
ngs.htm).
socgenmicrobiol.org.uk/meeti
S e ep p . 1 4 0 - 1 4 5 .
Annual lmmunocytochemistry
Meeting
London,4 Morch 1998
Contact: Royal MicroscopicalSociety,
37138St Clements,Oxford OX4 IAJ
(Te|.01865248768;Fax 01865 791237;
Email [email protected])
O ne-day Laboratory/Lectu
Courses:
re
RNA Extraction and Analysis
Universityof Hertfordshire,Hatfield
3l Morch 1998
PCR Methods and Applications
Universityof Hertfordshire,Hotfield
I April 1998
Department
of
ContactDr RalphRapley,
of Hertfordshire,
Biosciences,
University
HertsAL l0 9AB
CollegeLane,Hatfield,
(Tel.0 | 7072845| 3; Fax017072845| 0;
[email protected])
Microscopy of Composite
Materials - in Materials
Congress 98
Cirencester, 6-8 April 1998
Contact: Royal MicroscopicalSociety,
37138St Clements,Oxford OX4 IAJ
(Tel.01865248768;Fax 01865 791237;
Email [email protected])
The Claude Bernard Lecture.
Sequence-specific Recognition
of Nucleic Acids and Control
of Gene Expression: From
Chemistry to Clinics
The RoyolSociety,
I I December 1997
PromotionSection,
Contact:Science
CarltonHouse
The RoyalSociety,6
LondonSWIY sAG (Tel.0l 7l
Terrace,
4 5 1 2 5 7 4 1 5 ; F0al 7x l 4 5 12 6 9 3 ; W e b
royalsoc.ac.u
k)
http://www.
Bernal Lecture.
of Academic
Networking
and Industrial Research:The
UK Phenomenon
The Royol Society, 3 February 1998
Contact: SciencePromotion Section,
The Royal Society,6 Carlton House
T e r r a c eL, o n d o nS W I Y s A G ( T e l . 0 l 7 l
The
The
4 5 1 2 5 7 4 1 5F: a x0 l 7 l 4 5 1 2 6 9 3 ; W e b
http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk)
Molecular Biology Update A Laboratory-based
Course
U niversity of Hertfordshire, Hatfield
G9 April 1998
Contacc ProfessorJohnWalker, Dept. of
Biosciences,
Universityof Hertfordshire,
College Lane,Hatfield,Herts AL l0 9AB
(Te|.01707284546;Fax 01707 284510;
[email protected]
Focus on Multidimensional
Microscopy
Sydney,I 4-l 8 April 1998
Society,
Contact:RoyalMicroscopical
37138St Clements,
Oxford OX4 IAJ
(Te|.01865
Fax01865791237:
748768;
[email protected])
Spring School in Electron
Microscopy
Sheffield,20-24 April 1998
Society,
Contact:RoyalMicroscopical
OxfordOX4 IAJ
37138St Clements,
(Te|.01865
Fax01865791237;
248768;
[email protected])
The Leeuwenhoek Lecture.
The Genetics and Cell Biology
of Antigenic Variation in
Trypanosomes
The RoyolSociety,14 Moy 1998
Contact:Science
PromotionSection,
The RoyalSociety,6CarltonHouse
Terrace,
LondonSWIY 5AG(Tel.0l7l
4 5 1 2 5 7 4 1F5a; x0 l 7 l 4 5 12 6 9 3 ; W e b
http://www.royalsoc.ac.
uk)
98th General Meeting of the
American Society for
Microbiology
Atlanta, Georgia,USA
17-21Moy 1998
Contact:ASM
GeneralMeetingDept.,
| 325Massachusetts
AvenueNW
Washington,
DC 20005-4l7| , USA
Microbiology
& lnfectious
Diseases in the Asia-Paci{ic:
The 2lst Century. First
lnternational
Conference
of
the Federation
of Asia-Pacifi c
Microbiology
Societies
Singopore, 24-27 May 1998
Contact: Dr Song Keang Peng,Hon.
Secretary,OrganizingCommittee, c/o
Department of Microbiology,National
University of Singapore,Lower Kent
Ridge Road,Singapore | 19260 (Tel.+65
7723278: Fax +65 776 6872:Email
[email protected])
q@
Vll International
Congress
of Ecology (INTECOL).
New Tasks for Ecologists
after Rio 1992
Florence, ltaly, l9-25 luly 1998
Contact Almo Farina,Vice-President
INTECOL Secretariat,Lunigiana
Museum of Natural History, Fortezza
della Brunella,540 | | Aulla, ltaly (Tel.
+39 187 400252: Fax +39 187 420727:
Email [email protected];
Web http://www.tamnet.it/intecol.98)
Epitope Mapping A Laboratory Course
U niversity of Hertfordshire, Hotfield,
20-24luly 1998
ContaccProfessor
JohnWalker,Dept.of
Biosciences,
University
of Hertfordshire,
CollegeLane,Hatfield,
HertsAL | 0 9AB
(Tel.0 | 707 284546;Fax017072845| 0;
Emai
I J.M.Wal
[email protected]
3rd lnternational
Conference
on Anthrax
University of Plymouth
7-10 September 1998
Contact: Les Baillie,Bldg 384, CBD
Porton Down, SalisburySPaOJQ (Tel.
0 1 9 8 06 1 3 8 8 1F; a x0 1 9 8 06 1 3 2 8 4 )
Molecular lnformation and
Prehistory. Discussion Meeting
The RoyolSociety
24-25 lune 1998
Contact:Science
PromotionSection.
The RoyalSociety,6CarltonHouse
Terrace
L ,o n d o n
S W I Y 5 A G( T e l . 0 l 7 l
4 5 1 2 5 7 4 1F5a; x0 l 7 l 4 5 12 6 9 3 ; W e b
http://www.
royalsoc.ac.uk)
2nd lnternational Symposium
on Propionibacteria
CorN25-27lune 1998
ContaccDrTim Cogan,DairyProducts
Research
Centre,Fermoy,
lreland(Tel.
+35325 42222;Fax
+35325 42340;
[email protected])
Society for Applied
Bacteriology Symposium:
Aquatic Microbiology
Universityof Loncoster
I3-16luly 1998
ContaccAlan
Godfree,PublicHealth
NorthWestWater,Dawson
Section,
Warrington
House,GreatSankey,
WAs 3LW(Fax01925233596;
[email protected])
Antimicrobial
Agents and
Resistance (Workshop)
U niversity of Hertfordshire, Hotfield
l5-l5luly 1998
Contact: Dr lan Morrissey,Dept. of
Biosciences,
Universityof Hertfordshire,
CollegeLane,Hatfield,Herts AL l0 9AB
(Tel.0 | 707 285 | 63; Fax 01707 284514;
[email protected])
Molecular Probes in
Diagnostics. Nucleic Acid
Protein Techniques
and
U niversity of Hertfordshire, Hatfield,
f 5 September 1998
Contace Dr Ralph Rapley,Department of
Biosciences,
Universityof Hercfordshire,
College Lane,Hatfield,Herts AL l0 9AB
(Tel.0 | 707 2845 | 3; Fax 01707 2845 | 0;
Email [email protected])
5th IUBMB Conference on
The Biochemistry of Health
and Diseases
lerusolem,lsroel
l8-22 October 1998
Contact:KenesLtd,SharonBarnett,
PO Box50006,Te|
Aviv61500,lsrael
(Tel.+9723 5 l4 0000;Fax+9723 517
5674;[email protected])
EURECO'99 8th European Ecological
Congress.The European
Dimension in Ecology:
Perspectives & Challenges for
the 2lst Century
Holkidiki, Greece
18-23 September 1999
ContactSecretariat
EURECO'99,
UPB
| 19,Departmentof Ecology,
Schoolof
Biology,
AristotleUniversity,
GR-54006
Thessaloniki,
Greece(Tel.+303 |
9983l61998254;
Fax+303 | 998379;
[email protected])
Officers:
President
Prof.HowardDalton
Departtnmt of Bblogical Sciences,The University of Warwick,
Coventry C1147l.t--
TeI.01203
523552
Fax012035235681
523701
Email [email protected]
Treasurer
Prof. W. Allan Hamilton
Dqartment ofMoleatlar and Cell Biology,Institute of Medical
Sciences,
University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD
TeL01224273143
Fax01224273144
[email protected]
GencralSecretarf
Dr CharlesW.Penn
Schoolof Biological Scienca, Biology West Building, University of
Birmingham, Birmingham 815 2TT
TeI.0121
4146562
Fa.x01214146557
[email protected]
ScientificMeetingsOfficer
Dr PatM. Goodwin
TheWellcomeTiust,l83 Euston Road, London NWl 2BE
TeI.0171
6118435
Fax01716118352
Email [email protected]
International Secretary
Prof.IeffW.Almond
School of Animal and Microbial Sciencu, University of Reading,
PO Box 228, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AJ
Tel.01189318901
Fax 0118931667I
[email protected]
ProfessionalAffairs Offi cer
Prof.ChrisF.Thurston
Mirobiology Group, Division of Life Sciences,Kirgt College
London, Kensington Campus, Campden Hill Road, London W8
TALl
TeI.0171
3334276
Fax01713334500
[email protected]
PublicationsOfficer
Dr DaveMcL. Roberts
Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell
Road, London SW7 5BD
Tel.0171
9388790
Fax01719388754
[email protected]
Editor-in-Chief, Microbiologlr
Prof.JonR. Saunders
Department of Geneticsand MicrobiologT, School of Life Sciences,
University of Liverpool, PO Box I4T,Liverpool L69 3BX
TeL0151
7944416
Fax0151794440I
[email protected]
Editor-in-Chief,/GV
Dr GrahamK. Darby
Molecular Biobgy, Glaxo Wellcome, Langley Court, Beckenham,
Kent BR3 3BS
TeI.0181
6s822Il
Fax01816633532
Dr Geoff B. Clements
RegionalVirus Laborarory Ruchill Hospital, Bilsland Drive, Glasgow
G2O9NB
TeI.0141
9467120
Fax01419462200
Dr Ulrich Desselberger
RegionalPublic Heatth LaboratoryLevel 6, Addenbrooke's Hospital,
Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2Q\,V
Tel.0I223216816
Fax0l223242775
Prof. John C. Fry
School of Pure & Applied Biology,lJniversity of Wales College of Cardiff,
P.O.Box 915, Cardiff, CFI 3TL
.
Tel.0L222874t90
Fax01222874305
Email [email protected]
Dr L. Anne Glover
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology,Institute of Medical Sciences,
University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen l\825 2ZD
TeL.01224273099
Fax0L224273IM
[email protected]
Prof. Ron T. Hay
Schoolof Biological 6 M€dical Sciences,IrvineBuilding, University of
St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9AL
TeI.01334463396
Fax01334463400
[email protected].
uk
Dr David A. Hodgson
Department of Biological Sciences,University of Warwick,
Coventry C\t47AL
TeI.01203
s23559
Fax0120352370I
[email protected]
Prof. Carlos E. Hormaeche
Depamnent of Mitobiology, University of Newcastle Medical School,
Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH
TeI.0191
2227704
Fax0191
2227736
Prof. Dave l. Rowlands
Departrnmt of Microbiology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT
]bl. 0113233s64r
Fax0l132335638
Email [email protected]
Prof. George P.C.Salmond
Department of Bioctumisrry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court
Roa4 Cambridge CB2 IQW
Tel.01223333650
Fax0l223 333345
Email [email protected]
Dr Nigel D. Stow
MRC Virologyr Urir, lnstitute of Virology, Church Street,
GlasgowGll5IR
Tel.0l4l 3304Ol7
Fax01413372236
Prof. Chris M. Thomas
School of Biobgical Scienca, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston,
Birmingham Bl5 2TT
1b1.0121
4r45903
Fax01214145925
[email protected]
Dr Liz (E.M.H.) Wellington
Departmnt of Biobgical Sciences,Universityof Warwich Gibbet Hill
Road, CoventryCtr{47AJ-
Tel.01203523184
Fax01203523701
Email [email protected]
Members: