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Using the Genome to Understand Pathogenicity

  • Protocol
Genomics, Proteomics, and Clinical Bacteriology

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology™ ((MIMB,volume 266))

Abstract

Genome sequencing, the determination of the complete complement of DNA in an organism, is revolutionizing all aspects of the biological sciences. Genome sequences make available for scientific scrutiny the complete genetic capacity of an organism. With respect to microbes, this means we now have the unprecedented opportunity to investigate the molecular basis of commensal and virulence behavior. We now have genome sequences for a wide range of bacterial pathogens (obligate, facultative, and opportunistic); this has facilitated the discovery of many previously unidentified determinants of pathogenicity and has provided novel insights into what creates a pathogen. In-depth analyses of bacterial genomes are also providing new perspectives on bacterial physiology, molecular adaptation to a preferred niche, and genomic susceptibility to the uptake of foreign DNA, three key factors that can play a significant role in determining whether a species, or a strain, will have pathogenic potential.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oxford Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Oxford, UK

    Dawn Field

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI

    Jennifer Hughes

  3. Molecular Infectious Diseases Group, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford, UK

    E. Richard Moxon

  4. University of Oxford Department of Paediatrics, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK

    E. Richard Moxon

Authors
  1. Dawn Field
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  2. Jennifer Hughes
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  3. E. Richard Moxon
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Antibiotic Resistance Monitoring and Reference Laboratory, Specialist and Reference Microbiology Division, Health Protection Agency-Colindale, London, UK

    Neil Woodford  & Alan P. Johnson  & 

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Field, D., Hughes, J., Moxon, E.R. (2004). Using the Genome to Understand Pathogenicity. In: Woodford, N., Johnson, A.P. (eds) Genomics, Proteomics, and Clinical Bacteriology. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 266. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-763-7:261

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-763-7:261

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-218-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-763-5

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