Microbial Genomics

Microbial Genomics

It is well known that the gut microbiota regulates homeostasis of the digestive system; however, the mechanisms involved have been difficult to uncover. By manipulating the germ environment of Drosophila alongside genomic analyses of its symbiont, Acetobacter pomorum, Shin et al. (2011) deduce a pathway that relies on the collaboration between a bacterial enzymatic reaction and the host insulin...

Microbial genomics challenge Darwin

This collection of 14 articles in Frontiers in Cellular and Infectious Microbiology aims to re-assess Darwinian and neo-darwinian concepts of biological evolution in the light of the discoveries in comparative genomics of microbes in the twenty-first century. At the time of the publication of the Origins of species in 1859 (Darwin, 1859), Darwin’s vision of evolution revolutionized the scientif...

Microbial Genomics: Tropical Treasure?

A Brazilian consortium has unveiled the genomic DNA sequence of the purple-pigmented bacterium Chromobacterium violaceum, a dominant component of the tropical soil microbiota. The sequence provides insight into the abundant potential of this organism for biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications.

Genomics update Microbial sunscreens

Microbial genomics and infectious diseases.

Copyright © 2011 Massachusetts Medical Society. The pace of technical advancement in microbial genomics has been breathtaking. Since 1995, when the first complete genome sequence of a free-living organism, Haemophilus inf luenzae, was published,1 1554 complete bacterial genome sequences (the majority of which are from pathogens) and 112 complete archaeal genome sequences have been determined, a...