Evolutionary Mechanisms of Microbial Genomes 2012

Abstract

Sequencing of more than 1,600 microbial genomes has been complete, and rigorous studies are underway to reveal the mechanisms of evolution which gave rise to the great variety in combination of gene functions encoded on these genomes. Although comparative genomics based on orthologous genes has elucidated a great deal of the phylogenetic relationship among the sequenced genomes, the mechanisms which have shaped the current states of the microbial genomes remain elusive. Particularly, the contribution of external forces such as horizontal gene transfer and pressure from environmental factors to genome evolution has yet to be investigated. This special issue presents six, three, and two papers related, respectively, to bacterial, fungal, and viral evolutionary mechanisms.