Bacteria as Multicellular Organisms is the first book devoted specifically to multicellular aspects of bacterial life, representing a new approach to bacteria. Contrary to conventional wisdom, which treats bacteria as autonomous single cells, this book shows how bacteria are sentient, interactive organisms with an unexpecteedly broad repertoire of chemical and physical mechanisms for signalling each other and organizing themselves into multicellular aggregates with novel properties. The book has been compiled from reports by specialists in a variety of disciplines from genetics and microbiology to environmental engineering and biotechnology. This interdisciplinary approach reflects the growing importance of bacteria as key experimental material for investigating phenomena common to many fields in contemporary science: communication, complexity, self-organization, and pattern formation. The impact of bacterial multicellularity will affect such diverse areas as evolutionary population biology, non-linear dynamics, and information science.
Reviews
"Most microbiologists think of bacteria as exclusively unicellular organisms; this book provides a useful, alternative view of microbial life."--Choice "...one cannot end up but with a distinct and delightful "feeling for the multicellular microorganism" after reading this volume. The editors should be pleased with the results of their efforts, as should those--ardent followers and neophytes alike--who persue the pages of this text."--Science "The editors of this volume argue persuasively that the field of microbiology is undergoing major changes in research perspective. . . . This book is generally well written and is accessible to both specialists and a wider audience." --The Quarterly Review of Biology



Book Information
ISBN 9780195091595
Author James A. Shapiro
Format Hardback
Page Count 480
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 1055g
Dimensions(mm) 243mm * 170mm * 35mm