title: Comparative genomics and the evolution of prokaryotes.
abstract: Although biologists have long recognized the importance of studying evolution to understand the organization of living organisms, only with the development of genomics have evolutionary studies become part of their routine toolkit. Placing genomes into an evolutionary framework has proved useful for understanding the functioning of organisms. It has also substantially increased understanding of the processes by which genomes evolve and led to a re-evaluation of our representation of the diversity and the history of life. In this review, we present some of the most important recent advances and promising leads in the field of microbial evolutionary genomics.
authors.affiliation: Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie évolutive, Villeurbanne, F-69622 cedex, France.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abby
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Daubin
mesh_terms: D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D023281:Genomics; D011387:Prokaryotic Cells