Chapter 1. The bacterial cell envelope. A historical perspective (M.R.J. Salton). 2. Bacterial peptidoglycan. Overview and evolving concepts (H. Labischinski, H. Maidhof) 3. Biosynthesis of the bacterial peptidoglycan unit (J. van Heijenoort). 4. Utilization of lipid-linked precursor and formation of peptidoglycan in the process of cell growth and division (M. Matsuhashi). 5. Molecular biology of bacterial septation (J.A. Ayala, T. Garrido, M.A. de Pedro, M. Vicente). 6. Biochemistry of the penicilloyl serine transferases (J.-M. Ghuysen and G. Dive). 7. Microbial peptidoglycan (murein) hydrolases (G.D. Shockman, J.-V. Höltje) 8. Cell wall changes during bacterial endospore formation (C.E. Buchanan, A.O. Henriques, P.J. Piggot). 9. Teichoic acid synthesis in Bacillus Subtitis (H. Pooley, D. Karamata). 10. Lipoteichoic acids and lipoglycans (W. Fisher). 11. Cell-wall-associated proteins in Gram-positive bacteria (M.A. Kehoe). 12. Molecular organization and structural role of outer membrane macromoecules (R.E.W. Hancock, D.N. Karunaratne, C. Bernegger-Egli). 13. Biosynthesis and assembly of lipopolysaccharide (P. Reeves). 14. Lipoproteins, structure, function, biosysthesis and model for protein export (V. Braun, H.C. Wu). 15. Structure-function relationships in porins as derived from a 1.8 Å resolution crystal structure (G.E. Schulz). 16. Structures of non-specific diffusion pores from Escherichia coli (S.W. Cowan, T. Schirmer). 17. The porin superfamily: diversity and common features (D. Jeanteur, J.H. Lakey, F. Pattus) 18. Outer membrane proteins of Escherichia coli: mechanism of sorting and regulation of synthesis (U. Henning, R. Koebuik). 19. Uptake of solutes through bacterial outer membranes (R. Benz). 20. Secretion of hemolysin and other proteins out of Gram-negative bacterial cell (V. Koronakis, C. Hughes). 21. Periplasm (M.E. Bayer). 22. Transmembrane signal transducing proteins (M.G. Surette, J.B. Stock). 23. Mechanisms of chromosomal &bgr;-lactamase induction in Gram-negative bacteria (S. Normark, E. Bartowsky, J. Erickson, C. Jacobs, F. Lindberg, S. Lindquist, K. Weston-Hafer, M. Wikström). 24. Induction of &bgr;-lactamase and low-affinity penicillin-binding protein 2' synthesis in Gram-positive bacteria (B. Joris, K. Hardt, J.-M. Ghuysen). 25. Resistance to &bgr;-lactam antibiotics (B.G. Spratt). 26. Resistance to glycopeptide antibiotics (R. Hakenbeck). 27. Diffusion of inhibitors across cell wall (H. Nikaido). Species index. Subject index.