Microbiological sciences: a European perspective Authors Eliora Z. Ron Abstract Microbiological sciences, which appeared to be obsolete after the discovery of antibiotics, are now ranked among the most important biological sciences. The revival of microbiology has been due mainly to the emergence and rapid spread of antibiotic resistance. The fact that many pathogenic bacteria are now resistant to most of the antibiotics currently in use has resulted in a critical and urgent need to understand the basis of bacterial virulence in order to prevent and treat the respective diseases. Another important development has been the availability of genomic technologies and databases, which have made it possible to explore the vast biodiversity of bacterial genomes and to use the information for biotechnological applications. This article discusses these two aspects of modern microbiology, with special focus on the European perspective. In addition, the development and activities of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS), which unites the efforts of 47 microbiological societies, is described. Downloads Text complet (Català) Published 2010-01-22 Issue 5-1 Section Distinguished lectures. Ramon Margalef Award for Ecology 2012 License This work is subject, unless the contrary is indicated in the text, the photographs or in other illustrations, to an Attribution —Non-Commercial— No Derivative Works 3.0 Creative Commons License, the full text of which can be consulted at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. You are free to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work provided that the author is credited and reuse of the material is restricted to non-commercial purposes only and that no derivative works are created from the original material.
