It is specifically designed to boost the cutting edge knowledge of students and improve their focus on the next generation developmental skills on Microbiology for making it as their carrier. This book can bring a light for the students, those are going to write in the CSIR-UGC NET, ICMR-NET, DBT-JRF, PG-Combined entrance exams, ICAR-NET, ASRB-NET, GATE, SLET, SAUs and other combined entrance examinations. All the questions of this book are assembled from standard textbooks of microbiology covering all the area of microbiology. The authors hope this book will surely assist the young minds to crack the examinations in a easy and simple way and will definitely useful to the researchers to clarify the doubts that often come during the research work. We also request and welcome our judging audience (readers) to send their valuable suggestions for further improvement of this book. Contents: Chapter-1 Introduction to Microbiology History and scope of microbiology, evolution of microbial life, theory of spontaneous generation, important groups of prokaryotes – bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, mycoplasma, viruses, bacteriophages. Heterotrophic bacteria, nitrobacteria, nitrogen-fixing bacteria and cyanobacteria, lactic acid bacteria, halophiles, thermophiles acidophiles and methanogens. Structure and classification of viruses, viriods, prions Chapter-2 Microbial growth and metabolism Microbial cell structures and functions, Microbial Growth, its calculations, different types of growth patterns (continuous, synchronous), measurement of growth, cell energetic, overview of metabolic pathways: Glycolysis, Pentosephosphate pathway, Entner-Doudoroff pathway, Glyoxalate pathway, The citric acid cycle, Fermentation, Aerobic and anaerobic respiration, Chemolithotrophy, Photosynthesis, Calvin cycle, Biosynthetic pathway for fatty acids synthesis, Common regulatory mechanisms in synthesis of amino acids, Regulation of major metabolic pathways Chapter-3 Microbial Genetics Microbial genetic system: conjugation, transformation, transduction, plasmid, transposons, recombination, mutation and mutagens, DNA repair system, Regulation of gene expression: repression and induction, Operon models, Phage λ and its life cycle, other different types of phages and its life cycles, microbial genetic map Chpater-4 Microbial Ecosystems and intercations Concept of Ecology, microbiology of different ecosystems: soil, rhizosphere, phyllosphere, water – fresh, marine, air, sub-surface and extreme environments, law governing and controlling the ecosystems, their mathematical expressions, microbiology of rare ecosystems, microbial interactions - symbiosis, synergism, commensalism, parasitism, amensalism, antagonism and predation, Plant-microbe interactions for sustainable agriculture, Biogeochemical cycling: C, N, S, P and other important elements, Human-microbe interaction Chapter-5 Environmental Microbiology Case study of microbial life and metabolism in prominent extreme habitat, Remediation of different polluted environments: Heavy metals, Organicals, Pesticides, Petroleum contamination, pH problem, microbiology of sewage and industrial effluents and their safe disposal, management of solid and liquid organic wastes, composting, biogas, water purification, sewagetreatment and sanitary analysis, water-borne diseases and effluent management. Chapter-6: Disease Microbiology Classification of infectious diseases, Reservoirs of infection, Nosocomial infection, Emerging infectious diseases, Mechanism of microbial pathogenicity, Nonspecific defense of host, Antigens and antibodies, Humoral and cell mediated immunity, Vaccines, Human diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, and pathogenic fungi Chpater-7: Industrial Microbiology Industrial production of metabolites - organic acids, alcohols, antibiotics, vaccines, single cell proteins, probiotics, hormones, biofertilizers and biopesticides, Fermentor designs and types, Control of fermentation process - batch, feed batch and continuous. Downstream processing in fermentation industry, Food and dairy microbiology: contamination, preservation and spoilage of different foods and food products, microbiology of fermented foods: vinegar, wine, sauerkraut, pickles, cheese, yoghurt Chapter-8: Culture Techniques for Detection of Microbes Microscopic techniques: Optical, phase contrast, fluorescent, scanning probe, dark field and electron microscopes, Culture methods: Isolation and enrichments of different types of microorganisms, Methods of sterilization and disinfection, Taxonomic methods of identification: culture based taxonomy, polyphasic taxonomy and Enumeration methods Chapter-9: Advance Techniques in Microbiology Genome sequencing and techniques, Proteomics, RNA studies, Meta-omics techniques Long and Short Notes - Exam Oriented Milestones Microbiology Tips and Tricks : Microbiology