The explosion in biological research which has taken place over the
past two decades has inevitably induced a considerable degree of
specialization among those engaged in this research. At the same time,
there has been a move towards integration among the biological sciences,
largely as a result of the realization that there exist many basic similarities
among living organisms, particularly at the physiological level .
These two trends have placed an even greater premium on the availability
of review articles with which biologists, who are researching in one area,
can become acquainted with progress that is being made in areas
outside their immediate sphere of interest. The physiology of microorganisms
is now being studied by individuals representing widely
diverse specializations in the chemical as well as the biological sciences.
It was with the belief that work being carried out under these many
specializations could profitably be brought together in the form of
review articles that we agreed to edit the present series.