In 2006, the term 'Patho-biotechnology' was coined to describe the exploitation of pathogens, or pathogen derived factors, for beneficial applications in biotechnology, food and medicine.This concept encompasses three broad areas:i. The first approach (outlined in Chapters 1-10) involves the use of selected pathogens as effective prophylactic and/o

Roy Sleator PhD graduated from University College Cork, Ire land in 1997 with a first-class honours degree in Microbiology, before going on to complete a PhD in 2001 at the National Food Biotechnology Centre, Bio Research Ireland. Following his PhD studies, Dr Sleator was granted a prestigious EMBARK Post-doctoral Fellowship from the Irish Research Council for Science Engineer ing and Technology, to investigate the mechanisms o f bacterial stress response. This work was recognized in 2004 with the inaugural joint European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases/Federation of European Microbiology Societies Research Fellowship. Colin Hill has a PhD in molecular microbiology and works in the Microbiology Department of University College Cork, Ireland. He is also a Principal Investigator in the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, a multi-disciplinary research centre focusing on the role o f gut microbiota in health and disease. His main interests are in infectious disease, particularly in defining the mechanisms of virulence of foodborne pathogens and in developing strategies to prevent and limit the consequences of microbial infections in the gastrointestinal tract.

Preface 1. Application of Bacterial Pathogens in Replacement Therapy 2. Improvement of Insect Pathogens as Insecticides through Genetic Engineering 3. Phage Therapy: A Trojan Horse Approach to the Control of Intracellular Pathogens 4. Bacterial Ghosts as Vaccine and Drug Delivery Platforms 5. In Vivo Remote Control of Bacterial Vectors for Prophylaxis and Therapy 6. Genetic Immunization : Bacteria as DNA Vaccine Delivery Vehicles 7. Bacteria Mediated Gene Therapy Strategies 8. Use of Intracellular Bacteria for the Development of Tools for Tum or Therapy and the Detection of Novel Antibacterial Targets 9. Bacterial Vectors for RNAi Delivery 10. Virai Pathogens as Therapeutic Delivery Vehicles 11. Promiscuous Drugs from Pathogenic Bacteria in the Post-Antibiotics Era 12. Attack and Counter-Attack: Targeted Immunomodulation Using Bacterial Virulence F actors 13. Cosmetic and Therapeutic Applications of Botulinum Toxin in the Head and Neck 14. The Use of Recombinant Phage Lysins for the Control of Bacterial Pathogens 15. Engineered Pharmabiotics with Improved Therapeutic Potential