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The Molecular Biology of Bifidobacteria

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Colonic Microbiota, Nutrition and Health

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Summary

Bacteria belonging to the genus Bifidobacterium are amongst the most abundant species of the human and animal intestinal microflora and consequently, can play a fundamental role in the ecology of the gastrointestinal tract in both health and disease. However, attempts to improve the characteristics of bifidobacteria for practical applications, and gain a detailed knowledge of the physiology of these organisms, have been severely limited by the lack of molecular tools. Some progress made over the past decade, concerning characterisation of the bifidobacterial genes, the development of cloning vectors, and genetic transformation systems is discussed here. These developments now provide the basis for genetic approaches, that will eventually lead to a better understanding of these important organisms and the potential development of strains with improved characteristics.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Microbiology Department, Institute of Food Research, Reading, UK

    Simon F. Park

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  1. Simon F. Park
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutical, Université Catholique de Louvain, Avenue Mounier 73, B-1200, Brussels, Belgium

    Marcel B. Roberfroid

  2. Food Microbial Sciences Unit, Department of Food Science and Technology, The University of Reading, Reading, UK

    Glenn R. Gibson

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Park, S.F. (1999). The Molecular Biology of Bifidobacteria. In: Gibson, G.R., Roberfroid, M.B. (eds) Colonic Microbiota, Nutrition and Health. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1079-4_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1079-4_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4022-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-1079-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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