"In launching this book, we wanted to cover many aspects and mechanisms of cellular microbiology, but more importantly, we intended to show that cellular microbiology as a field has reached maturity, extending beyond the strictly cellular level to infections of various organs and tissues. Many model organisms (Yersinia, Salmonella, Shigella, and Listeria, among others) are foodborne pathogens, and tremendous progress has been achieved in deciphering how, when, and where bacteria interact with the gut. However, intestinal cells and the intestine are not the only cells and organs discussed in this book. There are also chapters on infections of the urogenital tract, the endothelial barriers, the nervous system, and the lungs. Progress in the latter two concern important public health infections produced by Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These two bacteria, which were at first much more difficult to manipulate than Escherichia coli, are now genetically tractable, and their study can now benefit from all the techniques and approaches established with less fastidious bacteria"-- |