Analysis of Staphylococcus using comparative genomics

These Comparative genomics and genomic tools have been used to identify virulence factors and genes involved in environmental persistence of pathogens. However, a major stumbling block in the genomics revolution has been the large number of genes with unknown function that have been identified in every organism sequenced to date. Over 1740 bacterial genome sequences are currently available in public databases and over 5230 are in progress, representing hundreds of species as well as multiple strains of the same species. The study of these genomes by both computational and experimental approaches has significantly advanced our understanding of the physiology and pathogenicity of many microbes and provided insights into the mechanisms and history of genome evolution. Several ‘‘postgenomic’’ methods have been utilized to identify genes that are essential for bacterial growth or pathogenesis. Here we demonstrate the utility of several DNA and protein sequence comparison tools to interpret the information obtained from several genome projects. Comparisons are presented between closely related strains of Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis spp. The comparative genome analysis will generate a wealth of data to compare pathogenic strains with varying levels of pathogenicity, which in turn may reveal mechanisms by which the pathogen may adapt to a particular host.