Evolutionary Mechanisms of Microbial Genomes 2012
1Agricultural Bioinformatics Research Unit, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
2Laboratory for Cellular Systems Modeling, RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
3Laboratory of Environmental Biochemistry, Biotechnology Research Center, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
4Gene Expression and Regulation Program, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
5Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
Evolutionary Mechanisms of Microbial Genomes 2012
Description
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, 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 is intended to spur efforts to elucidate mechanisms of evolutionary forces acting on microbial genomes. We invite investigators to contribute both research and review articles focusing on the evolutionary mechanisms of microbial genomes to this special issue. Both experimental and computational works, or their hybrid, will be considered. We are particularly interested in articles attempting novel approaches in comparative genomics. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Horizontal gene transfer between phylogenetically distant organisms
- Orthologous gene comparison versus gene content comparison
- Environmental factors and gene contents
- Evolution of chromosomes and plasmids
- Mobile genetic elements and genomes
- Comparative studies of microbial epigenetic systems
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