Microbial Endocrinology

Microbial endocrinology represents a newly emerging interdisciplinary field that is formed by the intersection of the fields of neurobiology and microbiology. It is the intent of this book to introduce a new perspective to the current understanding not only of the factors that mediate the ability of microbes to cause disease, but also to the mechanisms that maintain normal homeostasis. The discovery that microbes can both synthesize and directly respond to neuroendocrine hormones provides for a new framework with which to investigate how microorganisms interface not only with vertebrates, but also with invertebrates and even plants.