Bacteria in Nature

1 The Scientific Study of Bacteria, 1780–1980.- How Were the Activities of Bacteria Recognized?.- The Process of Fermentation.- The Growth of Medical Bacteriology.- Bacteria and the Natural Cycles.- Chemical Transformations Carried Out by Bacteria.- Levels of Understanding.- Present and Future.- References.- 2 Anaerobic Biotransformations of Organic Matter.- Abiotic Transformations.- The Advent of Dioxygen.- Human Appreciation of Anaerobiosis.- Pasteur’s Great Contributions.- Development of Biochemistry in Relation to Anaerobic Transformations.- Types of Fermentation of Carbohydrates.- Development of Anaerobic Methods.- Categories of Organismic Relationships to Dioxygen.- Methanogenic Fermentations.- Modern Anaerobic Habitats: The Alimentary Tracts of Animals.- Modern Nonalimentary Anaerobic Habitats.- Digestion of Plant Cell Walls.- Transformations of Nitrogenous Materials.- Ultimate Events in Anaerobic Transformations.- Soluble Nutrients in Anaerobic Transformations.- Leakage of Metabolites from Anaerobic Digesters of Wall Materials.- Conclusion.- References.- 3 The Mineralization of Organic Materials under Aerobic Conditions.- History.- The Bacteria.- Stages of Mineralization.- Pathway Structure.- Genetic Organization.- Prospects and Trends in Research.- Conclusions.- References.- 4 Stages in the Recognition of Bacteria Using Light as a Source of Energy.- The Studies of Engelmann on the Responses of Green Algae and of Purple Bacteria to Light.- Winogradsky’s Work on the Sulfur Bacteria.- The Contribution of Molisch to the Knowledge of the Purple Bacteria.- Progress in the Study of the Sulfur Bacteria.- The Work of Buder with Purple Sulfur Bacteria.- Van Niel’s Broadened Concept of Photosynthesis.- Oxygenic and Anoxygenic Photosynthesis: Solutions to ClassicalProblems.- Structure of the Photosynthetic Apparatus in Purple and Green Bacteria.- Conclusion.- References.- 5 Oxygenic Photosynthesis in Prokaryotes.- From Blue-Green Algae to Cyanobacteria.- Discovery of the Role of Photosynthetic Pigments and Electron Carriers in Cyanobacteria.- Photosynthetic Structures in Cyanobacteria.- Nutritional Adaptations in the Photosynthetic Apparatus.- Facultative Anoxygenic Photosynthesis.- Conclusions.- References.- 6 Consumption of Atmospheric Nitrogen.- Early Observations.- Advances Prior to 1940.- Advent of Isotopic Techniques.- Advent of the Acetylene Reduction Technique.- Current Perspectives and Future Prospects.- References.- 7 The Position of Bacteria and Their Products in Food Webs.- Concepts.- Bacterial Interactions in Food Webs.- Conclusion.- References.- 8 A Comparison of the Roles of Bacteria and Fungi.- Significance of Growth Habit.- Physiological Aspects.- Some Important Microbial Ecosystems.- Conclusions.- References.