Part I: History A Short History of the Birth of the Amino Acid Industry in Japan, S. Kinoshita Part II: Taxonomy Corynebacterium Taxonomy, W. Liebl Part III: Genome, Plasmids and Gene Expression The Genomes of Amino Acid-producing Corynebacteria, J. Kalinowski Native Plasmids of Amino Acid-producing Corynebacteria, A. Tauch Regulation of Gene Expression, M. Patek Proteomics, S. Schaffer and A. Burkovski Part IV: Transport The Cell Envelope of Corynebacteria, M. Daffe Genomic Analyses of Transporter Proteins in Corynebacterium glutamicum and Corynebacterium efficiens, B. Winnen, J. Felce, and M. H. Saier, Jr. Export of Amino Acids and Other Solutes, L. Eggeling Part V: Physiology and Regulation Central Metabolism: Sugar Uptake and Conversion, A. Yokota and N.D. Lindley Central Metabolism: Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle and Anaplerotic Reactions, B. Eikmanns Metabolic Flux Analysis in Corynebacterium glutamicum, C. Wittmann and A.A. De Graaf Respiratory Energy Metabolism, M. Bott and A. Niebisch Nitrogen Metabolism and Its Regulation, A. Burkovski Sulfur Metabolism and Regulation, H.-S. Lee Phosphorus Metabolism, V.F. Wendisch and M. Bott Vitamin Synthesis: Carotenoids, Biotin, and Pantothenate, G. Sandmann and H. Yukawa Osmoregulation, S. Morbach and R. Kramer Part VI: Synthesis and Production L-Glutamate Production, E. Kimura L-Lysine Production, R. Kelle, T. Hermann, and B. Bathe L-Tryptophan Production, M. Ikeda Synthesis of L-Threonine and Branched Chain Amino Acids, L.B. Willis, P. A. Lessard, and A. J. Sinskey Part VII: Experiments Experiments