This collection of diverse articles by the pioneers of modern genomics takes stock of the current state of the field and elucidates the contribution that sequencing genomes has made to our understanding of microbial metabolism and evolution. Through twenty-eight thought-provoking chapters, the authors describe some of the most common computational methods and their applications to studying pathogenic microorganisms, show how genomics can be used to reconstruct the history and dynamism of the microbial world, and discuss issues as diverse as reconstruction of metabolic pathways, cell cycle processes, microbial evolution, metagenomics, and vaccine development. Additional chapters deal with microarrays and expression analysis and the role of genomic in drug discovery. Genomic technologies have transformed the field of microbiology, making it possible to investigate hundreds of genomes and uncover millions of new genes. In Microbial Genomics, a panel of genomics pioneers-many from The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR)-take stock of the current state of the field. Through 28 thought-provoking chapters, the authors describe some of the most common computational methods and their applications to studying pathogenic microrganisms, show how genomics can be used to reconstruct the history and dynamism of the microbial world, and discuss issues as diverse as reconstruction of metabolic pathways, cell cycle processes, microbial evolution, metagenomics, and vaccine development. Additional chapters deal with microrarrays and expression analysis and the role of genomics in drug discovery.
Stimulating and comprehensive, Microbial Genomics brings together not only many of the major investigators of modern microbial genomics, but also synthesizes a coherent view of the contributions that sequencing has made to our understanding of genomic structures, evolution, and biology.