title: Comparative genomic structure of prokaryotes.
abstract: Recent advances in DNA-sequencing technologies have made available an enormous resource of data for the study of bacterial genomes. The broad sample of complete genomes currently available allows us to look at variation in the gross features and characteristics of genomes while the detail of the sequences reveal some of the mechanisms by which these genomes evolve. This review aims to describe bacterial genome structures according to current knowledge and proposed hypotheses. We also describe examples where mechanisms of genome evolution have acted in the adaptation of bacterial species to particular niches.
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK. sdb@sanger.ac.uk
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parkhill
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D001482:Base Composition; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D023061:Gene Order; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D040481:Genome Components; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D013045:Species Specificity; D026801:Synteny