Interdisciplinary applied microbiology: an introduction

Abstract

This special issue of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek contains selected papers related to contributions presented in short during the 1st International Conference on Environmental, Industrial and Applied Microbiology (BioMicroWorld-2005), held on March 15 –18th, 2005 in Badajoz (Spain). http://www.formatex.org/biomicroworld2005. While microbiology is about the study of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, algae, fungi, and protozoa) and related topics such as microbe interactions, the immune response and molecular genetics, applied microbiology is quite interdisciplinary, overlapping aspects of several other academic branches, some of them traditionally close, such as cell biology, molecular and cell biophysics, physiology, parasitology, biochemistry, genetics, medicine, pharmacology, and medical technology, and others not so near, such as physics, physical (bio)chemistry, materials science, nanotechnology, computer science, information technology, instrumentation. But collaboration with these is resulting in extraordinary advances in this post-genomic world. Thus, cross-disciplinary cooperation in microbiology has enabled microbiologists to study not only traditionalmicroorganisms, but also aspects of molecular genetics, biosensors, cancer, aging, inmunodeficiency diseases, animal and plant cell cultures, and microscopy, among others. Modern microbiology includes a broad variety of scholarly approaches which lead to a better understanding of all living things at the micrometer/cellular and nanometer-scale/molecular level, which produce beneficial applications in medicine, agriculture, industry, and ecology. In this context, the Conference called for papers reporting interdisciplinary research, relating microbiology with other sciences, such as physico/ chemistry, environmental science, genetics, pharmacology, nanoscience, microscopy/imaging science, etc. In other words, we are specially (but not exclusively) interested in reports applying the techniques, the training, and the culture of microbiology to research areas usually associated with other scientific and engineering disciplines. Over 750 participants from more than 60 countries attended the Conference, 15% of whom participated with a grant from the conference organization. Over 1100 works were presented during the different oral and posters sessions. Good examples of modern interdisciplinary applied microbiology were the works represented by the three Plenary Speakers.