Microbial Comparative Genomics and Evolutionary Biology

Dear Colleagues,

Recent advances in the development of genome sequencing technologies have generated and rendered accessible the genomes of multiple strains of many individual microbial species. The comparison of genome sequences allows an in depth analysis of intra-species diversity and provides a deep understanding of organismal relationships. A particularly attractive application of microbial genomic comparison is the potential to give insights into the mechanisms of evolutionary biology. Comparative microbial genomics has already helped to describe genomic features in relation to microbial lifestyles and has provided insight into the functioning mode of the microbial community. This Special Issue, “Microbial Comparative Genomics and Evolutionary Biology”, will focus on the recent progress in microbial evolutionary using a comparative genomics approach. We are interested in the patterns that characterize the evolution and function of microbes with pathogenic and symbiotic lifestyles, in particular, the effects of the microbial lifestyle on genome change including genome reduction, the abundance of mobile elements, and host-interaction genes. We invite researchers in the field to submit original research and review articles on the advancement of comparative methods and their applications in evolutionary biology, as well as articles showing large-scale genetic intra- and inter-species differences in relation to lifestyle or phenotype. 

Dr. Vicky Merhej
Dr. Pierre Pontarotti
Guest Editors

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