title: Microbial genomics: all that you can't leave behind.
abstract: Projects designed to scan entire microbial genomes for essential genes have revealed a remarkably compact and conserved, but not universal, set of genes whose functions are necessary for survival or reproduction.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053, USA. cstephens@scu.edu
authors.forename: Craig M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Stephens
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Laub
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics*; D020043:Genes, Essential / Q000235:genetics; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends