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Biodiversity

Microbial genomes multiply

Nature volume 416, pages 697–700 (2002)Cite this article

It is seven years since the first bacterial genome was completely sequenced, and more than 60 others have now been determined. What has been the impact of these projects on pure science and public welfare?

The publication of the first complete sequence of a bacterial genome1 in 1995 was a signal event, underscored by the fact that the article has been cited more than 2,100 times during the intervening seven years. It was a marvellous technical achievement, made possible by automatic DNA-sequencing machines. The feat is the more impressive in that complete genome sequencing has now been adopted in many different laboratories around the world. Four years ago in these columns I examined the situation after a dozen microbial genomes had been completed2. Now, with upwards of 60 microbial genome sequences determined and twice that many in progress, it seems reasonable to assess just what is being learned. Are new concepts emerging about how cells work? Have there been practical benefits in the fields of medicine and agriculture? Is it feasible to determine the genomic sequence of every bacterial species on Earth? The answers to these questions may be Yes, Perhaps and No, respectively.

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Figure 1: Number of genes (ORFs) plotted against genome size for 44 fully sequenced genomes, including ten Archaea (squares) and 34 Bacteria.
Figure 2: Many routes to intracellular adaptation.

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  1. the Center for Molecular Genetics, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, 92093-0634, California, USA

    Russell F. Doolittle

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Correspondence to Russell F. Doolittle.

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Doolittle, R. Microbial genomes multiply. Nature 416, 697–700 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/416697a

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