The primary concept of this Series of books is to produce volumes covering the integration of plant and microbial biology in modern biotechnological science. Illustrations abound, for example the development of plant molecular biology has been heavily dependent on the use of microbial vectors, and the growth of plant cells in culture has largely drawn on microbial fermentation technology. In both of these cases the understanding of microbial processes is now benefiting from the enormous investments made in plant biotechnology. It is interesting to note that many educational institutions are also beginning to see things in this way and integrating departments previously separated by artificial boundaries.

Having set the scope of the Series, the next objective was to produce books on subjects which had not been covered in the existing literature and, it was hoped, to set some new trends.

Two of the first books of this Series addressed the opportunities of protein engineering (Peter Shewry and Steve Gutteridge) and transformation (Kan Wang, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella and Marc van Montagu), while another concerned the release of genetically engineered and other microorganisms (John Fry and Martin Day). One of the major targets of agricultural technology is the biological control of pests and diseases. Some of the debates on genetic engineering have clouded the issue that biological products could reduce the chemical load on the environment while providing more effective products that are less prone to resistance. On the other hand, introduction of any exotic, whether it is genetically engineered or not, into the environment should only be sanctioned when the risks are fully evaluated.