| Sorin Sonea |
This book presents a new approach to bacteriology, an approach that may seem controversial to some
bacteriologists. The hypothesis proposed here questions traditional ideas about the nature of the
bacterial world. The authors believe that current research in bacteriology should recognize the unique
characteristics of bacteria, characteristics that are revealed by epidemiological observation and by
advances in molecular biology. They also beieve that the concept of species, borrowed from the traditional
classification used for eukaryotes, is not applicable to bacteria. The author's experience in their research
on infectious diseases in humans (Dr. Sonea is a physician) and animals (Dr. Panisset was a
veterinarian) has led them to prepose that in nature bacteria form a unified global entity in which all
bacteria are linked, both genetically and by specific high-level functions. This entity functions as a kind of
superorganism in the world we live in, playing an essential role in maintaining the life processes that
ensure our survival.
The "new" bacteriology presented here will stimulate students of biology, bacteriology, genetics,
medicine, and the health sciences to be critical but open minded as they study the classical works in the
field.
"...A New Bacteriology is an original and profound statement about nature and about us."
From the Foreword by Professor Lynn Margulis, Boston University.
