title: Bacillus subtilis genome diversity.
abstract: Microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization (M-CGH) is a powerful method for rapidly identifying regions of genome diversity among closely related organisms. We used M-CGH to examine the genome diversity of 17 strains belonging to the nonpathogenic species Bacillus subtilis. Our M-CGH results indicate that there is considerable genetic heterogeneity among members of this species; nearly one-third of Bsu168-specific genes exhibited variability, as measured by the microarray hybridization intensities. The variable loci include those encoding proteins involved in antibiotic production, cell wall synthesis, sporulation, and germination. The diversity in these genes may reflect this organism's ability to survive in diverse natural settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Ashlee M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Earl
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Losick
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kolter
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization / Q000379:methods; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010802:Phylogeny; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins