In the last few decades, our perception of bacteria and their communities has changed significantly. past, prevailing opinion was that bacterial represent a population cells act individually. Today, there is well-documented fact mechanism intercellular communication, known as "quorum sensing", plays an important role in controlling various cellular processes such bioluminescence, virulence, tol...

Division of Microbiology Assessment, Office of Process and Facilities, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USAa; Department of Microbiology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistanb; Division of Microbiology, National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR), U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, Arkansas, USAc...

Microbiology is a specialized area of biology dealing with organisms too small to be seen without sufficient magnification. Microbiologists study bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, and prions and their interactions with humans, animals, plants, and the environment. While viruses and prions are not living organisms like bacteria, fungi, and parasites, they are studied by microbiologists; there...

Commonly encountered problems related to modelling bacterial growth in food are analysed from a mathematical point of view. Modelling techniques and terms, some misused, are discussed and an attempt is made to clarify how, and under what conditions, they may be used. A theoretical framework is given to provide a basis in which mathematical models having been used in predictive microbiology can ...