Bacterial pathogenomics

Mark Pallen, BW Wren

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

271 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Genomes from all of the crucial bacterial pathogens of humans, plants and animals have now been sequenced, as have genomes from many of the important commensal, symbiotic and environmental microorganisms. Analysis of these sequences has revealed the forces that shape pathogen evolution and has brought to light unexpected aspects of pathogen biology. The finding that horizontal gene transfer and genome decay have key roles in the evolution of bacterial pathogens was particularly surprising. It has also become evident that even the definitions for 'pathogen' and 'virulence factor' need to be re-evaluated.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)835-42
Number of pages8
JournalNature
Volume449
Issue number7164
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Oct 2007

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