Lee-Ann Jaykus, Hua H. Wang, and Larry S. Schlesinger (Eds.). ASM Press, Washington, D.C., 2009, 410 p., $159.95 (hardcover)

For centuries, microbes have played an important role in food and beverage production as well as preservation, but they are also known as significant contributors to food spoilage and causes of foodborne illnesses. The book by Jaykus, Wang, and Schlesinger describes the current knowledge about how foodborne microbes interact with each other, how they shape the complex ecosystem in a host, and what we can do to promote the health of the host. In order to discuss all these topics, which fall within the broad field of food microbiology, the editors have assembled a group of 35 authors from countries of North America, Europe, and Australasia.

Food-Borne Microbes: Shaping the Host Ecosystem is organized into five main sections and contains a total of 19 chapters. Section I, entitled Circulation and Dynamics among Microbial Ecosystems, serves as a kind of an introduction to food microbiology. The authors describe the microbial diversity of natural ecosystems (soil and water), and how microorganisms progress in food and change it from freshness to spoilage. They also introduce the reader to the microbial ecosystem of the human oral cavity and the gut, and they discuss aspects of gut health (including pre- and probiotics approaches) as well as the increased occurrence of antibiotic- resistant microbes in surface water and in drinking water.

Section II (Interactions and Modifications within Microbial Ecosystems) contains six chapters and is about the various forms of microbial communities and interactions. The authors discuss the role of biofilm formation, stress response, and strain variation, coexistence and competitive inhibition, as well as commensalism and pathogenicity.

In the third section (Antibiotic Resistance), the authors focus on the important clinical issue of antibiotic-resistant microbes in food. They describe not only the evolution of antibiotic resistance as it relates to microbes in food sources and in host ecosystems, but also the molecular mechanisms of resistance to various antibiotics and the impact of this problem on public health. Furthermore, the authors talk about the surveillance of antibiotic resistance, issues related to risk assessment, and options to control the emergence, persistence, and dissemination of antibiotic-resistant foodborne microbes.

Section IV (Model Organisms) provides the reader with an interesting discussion about several carefully selected foodborne bacteria and their effects on the host ecosystem. For example, the authors evaluate the fitness of pathogens such as Escherichia coli; Salmonella, Campylobacter, Clostridium, Listeria, and Yersinia spp.; as well as the "superbug" Staphylococcus aureus and the "survival specialist" Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis.

In the fifth and final section (Emerging Tools and Issues), the authors illustrate how molecular methods (e.g., fingerprinting, gene sequencing, and hybridization) can be used to study complex microbial communities, and how mathematical modeling can help investigators understand the complex dynamics of interactions of microbes in biofilms and in the host.

I found this book to be well written and sufficiently illustrated. It contains comprehensive information about the most important aspects of food microbiology, but with a strong emphasis on the host ecosystem. I consider a major strength of this book the selection of the 19 chapter topics that fit so well together that the reader will enjoy learning about the origin and medical significance of foodborne microbes and how these fascinating organisms interact with each other and shape the host ecosystem. In conclusion, I believe this multiauthored book can serve as an excellent text for students interested in food microbiology. It will also be an inspiration for researchers with different scientific backgrounds who want to help solve problems associated with foodborne microbes. Finally, I believe the book will also prove quite useful as a reference guide for experienced food microbiologists. As you can probably tell from my review, I have no reservations recommending this book to the scientific, medical, and public health community.

Christian T. K.-H. Stadtländer University of St. Thomas
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.