Biotechnology: Prospects and Applications

Biotechnology: Prospects and Applications covers the review of recent developments in biotechnology and international authorship presents global issues that help in our understanding of the role of biotechnology in solving important scientific and societal problems for the benefit of mankind and environment. A balanced coverage of basic molecular biology and practical applications, relevant examples, colored illustrations, and contemporary applications of biotechnology provide students and researchers with the tools and basic knowledge of biotechnology. In our effort to introduce students and researchers to cutting edge techniques and applications of biotechnology, we dedicated specific chapters to such emerging areas of biotechnology as Emerging Dynamics of Brassinosteroids Research, Third generation green energy, Bioremediation, Metal Organic Frameworks: New smart materials for biological application, Bioherbicides, Biosensors, Fetal Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Animal forensics. Biotechnology: Prospects and Applications will be highly useful for students, teachers and researchers in all disciplines of life sciences, agricultural sciences, medicine, and biotechnology in universities, research stations and biotechnology companies. The book features broader aspects of the role of biotechnology in human endeavor. It also presents an overview of prospects and applications while emphasizing modern, cutting-edge, and emerging areas of biotechnology. Further, it provides the readers with a comprehensive knowledge of topics in food and agricultural biotechnology, microbial biotechnology, environmental biotechnology and animal biotechnology. The chapters have been written with special reference to the latest developments in above broader areas of biotechnology that impact the biotechnology industry. A list of references at the end of each chapter is provided for the readers to learn more about a particular topic. Typically, these references include basic research, research papers, review articles and articles from the popular literature.

Dr. R. K. Salar, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Biotechnology, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, India. He received postdoctoral fellowship from the Ministry of Education, Slovak Republic, to pursue his post doctorate from Department of Biochemical Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia and visited several other countries including Japan, Norway, Austria, Hungary etc. His current interests are in fermentation technology and harnessing medicinal values of plants and microbes. Dr. Salar also received several research and development projects from UGC, New Delhi, HSCST, Chandigarh and International travel grant from DST, New Delhi. He is a reviewer of Journal of Basic Microbiology, Annals of Applied Biology (Wiley-VCH, Germany) and Frontiers in Life Sciences (Taylor & Francis, UK).

Dr. S.K. Gahlawat, Ph.D., is a Professor at the Department of Biotechnology and Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, India. He has been awarded Boyscast fellowship and DBT Overseas Associateship for doing postdoctoral research in FRS Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen, UK. He has received several R&D projects from UGC, ICAR and Haryana Govt. His research interests include development of molecular diagnostic methods for bacterial and viral diseases. He is a referee of International Journal of Aquaculture, The Netherlands and Journal of Applied Microbiology.

Dr. P. Siwach, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, India. She has received R&D projects from UGC, New Delhi. Her current research areas include molecular marker analysis for improvement of quality traits, micropropagation and biochemical characterization of medicinal plants.

Dr. J.S. Duhan, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, India. He has received R&D projects from UGC and CSIR, New Delhi. His specialization includes microbial biotechnology and biological nitrogen fixation.