Genome Sequencing and Informatics: New Tools for Biochemical Discoveries

During the past 3 years, we have experienced a major revolution in the biological sciences resulting from a tre- mendous flux of information generated by genome- sequencing efforts. Our understanding of microorganisms, the metabolic processes they catalyze, the genetic appara- tuses encoding cellular proteinaceous constituents, and the pathological conditions caused by these organisms has greatly benefited from the availability of complete micro- bial genomic sequences. Many research institutes around the world are now devoting their efforts solely to genome sequencing and to analysis of the data produced. Dozens of international conferences have been held with the primary purpose of keeping the scientific community abreast of recent developments. In this Update I will summarize some of the exciting information reported at a recent conference on microbial genomics.1