{"product_id":"streptomyces-in-nature-and-medicine-the-antibiotic-makers-9780195150667","title":"Streptomyces in Nature and Medicine: The Antibiotic Makers","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is an insiders account of 50 years of genetic studies of the soil-inhabiting microbes that produce most of the antibiotics used to treat infections  as well as anti-cancer  anti-parasitic and immunosuppressant drugs. The book begins by describing how these microbes the actinomycetes were discovered in the latter part of the nineteenth century  but remained a Cinderella group until  in the 1940s  they shot to prominence with the discovery of streptomycin  the first effective treatment for tuberculosis and only the second antibiotic  after penicillin  to become a medical marvel. There followed a massive effort over several decades to find further treatments for infectious diseases and cancer  tempered by the rise of antibiotic resistance consequent on antibiotic misuse and over-use. The book goes on to describe the discovery of gene exchange in the actinomycetes in the context of the rise of microbial genetics in the mid-20th century  leading to determination of the complete DNA sequence of a model member of the group at the turn of the millennium. There follow chapters in which the intricate molecular machinery that adapts the organisms metabolism and development to life in the soil  including antibiotic production  is illuminated by the DNA blueprint. Then come an up-to-the minute account of the use of genetic engineering to make novel  hybrid  antibiotics  and a topical description of techniques to learn the roles of the thousands of genes in a genome sequence  throwing a powerful light on the biology of the organisms and their harnessing for increasing antibiotic productivity. In the final chapter we return to the mycobacteria that cause tuberculosis and leprosy  the first actinomycetes to be discovered  and how methodology  in part derived from the study of the streptomycetes  is being applied to understand and control these still deadly pathogens.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45651893747765,"sku":"ByrdShop_019515066X","price":101.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780195150667.jpg?v=1781844131","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/streptomyces-in-nature-and-medicine-the-antibiotic-makers-9780195150667","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}