The microbial pan-genome

TL;DR: The de novo assembly, combined with automated gene-by-gene annotation, generates high quality draft genomes in which the majority of protein-encoding genes are present with high accuracy and is a practical approach to interpreting WGS data for large bacterial population samples.

TL;DR: These giants of the virus world evolved repeatedly from smaller and simpler viruses, rather than from a fourth domain of cellular life, and captured numerous genes, including those for translation system components, from eukaryotes, along with some bacterial genes.

TL;DR: This paper argues that a different view of LUCA is needed, one that fits well with the harsh geochemical setting of early Earth and resembles the biology of prokaryotes that today inhabit the Earth's crust.

TL;DR: The results of this genome content comparison were used, together with high-throughput growth experiments on various carbohydrates, to perform gene-trait matching analysis, in order to link the distribution pattern of a specific phenotype to the presence/absence of specific sets of genes.

TL;DR: Over 1.2 million previously unknown genes represented in these samples, including more than 782 new rhodopsin-like photoreceptors are identified, suggesting substantial oceanic microbial diversity.

TL;DR: The genomic sequence of six strains representing the five major disease-causing serotypes of Streptococcus agalactiae, the main cause of neonatal infection in humans, was generated and Mathematical extrapolation of the data suggests that the gene reservoir available for inclusion in the S. agalactic pan-genome is vast and that unique genes will continue to be identified even after sequencing hundreds of genomes.

TL;DR: Mobile elements within genomes have driven genome evolution in diverse ways and are becoming useful tools for learning more about genome evolution and gene function.

TL;DR: The current review presents the available genomics and biological data on prophages from bacterial pathogens in an evolutionary framework to demonstrate that the chromosomes from bacteria and their viruses (bacteriophages) are coevolving.