Edited by
Joseph Alouf, Institute Pasteur de Lille, France
Michel Popoff, CNR Anaerobies et Botulisme
Unite Bacteries anaerobies et Toxines
Institut Pasteur, FRANCE
Description
Bacterial toxins play an important role in infectious diseases. Several are amongst the most potent biological agents known to man. Cholera,
pertussis, botulinum, clostridium and tetanus toxins are all produced by bacteria. In many cases, it is the toxin produced and not the
infectious agent itself that causes pathology. Botulinum toxin has now of course found clinical application as botox, and anthrax, and
other toxins, have potentially devastating effects if misused as an agent of biological terror. This book describes the major achievements
and discoveries relevant to bacterial protein toxins since the turn of the new century, illustrated by the discovery of more than fifty
novel toxins (many of them identified through genome screening). The establishment of the three-dimensional crystal structure of more
than 20 toxins during the same period offers deeper knowledge of structure-activity relationships and provides a framework to understand
how toxins recognize receptors, penetrate membranes and interact with and modify intracellular substrates.
Audience:
Researchers, Academics, Graduate Students and PhD's in general microbiology, clinical microbiology and infectious disease
