Microbial genomics: present and future: The Third Annual Conference on Microbial Genome Sequencing, Functional Characterization and Comparative Genomics, organized by The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), was held in Chantilly, VA, USA, 29 January – 1 February 1999.

Abstract

The rapid growth rate and expansion of the field of microbial genomics is astonishing. Around two dozen complete microbial genomes have been sequenced, with many more complete sequences expected in the next few years. The complete genome sequences of different strains of the same species have also now been reported for Helicobacter pylori and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Making best use of this data will require a similar expansion in our ability to process and analyse data on a large scale. Ironically, in many cases, this has meant miniaturization of conventional assays to permit a mass-screening approach. ‘Microbial Genomes III’ covered all these issues and brought us up to date with recent advances in microbial genome sequencing, functional characterization and comparative genomics. Abstracts of the papers presented at the meeting have been published 1 Microb. Comp. Genomics. 1999; 3: C1 Google Scholar .