Genome Digest

E coliWIKIMEDIA COMMONS, MATTOSAURUS
Deadly E. coliSpecies: Rare hemorrhage-causing strain of E. coli, O104:H4Genome size: 5.2 million base pairsInteresting fact: This strain of E. coli, which caused the recent deadly outbreak in Germany, is a new serotype not involved in any previous E. coli outbreaks. It has acquired several antibiotic resistance genes and specific genetic sequences involved in aggregation ability and virulence.

D. Li, et al., “Genomic data from Escherichia coli O104:H4 isolate TY-2482,” BGI Shenzhen, doi:10.5524/100001, 2011.

Endangered devilSpecies: Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisiiGenome size: 3.2 billion base pairsInteresting fact: Tasmanian devils, which live in the wild only on the island of Tasmania in Australia, have low genetic diversity within their population. This low diversity, however, preceded the Devil Facial Tumor Disease outbreak that has spread rapidly since it was first observed 15 years ago and now threatens the species with extinction.

W. Miller, et al., “Genetic diversity and population structure of the endangered marsupial Sarcophilus harrisii (Tasmanian devil),” PNAS, doi:10.1073/pnas.1102838108, 2011.

A yeast trioSpecies: Three yeasts— Saccharomyces bayanus, S.kudriavzevii and S. mikataeGenome size: 11 million base pairs eachInteresting fact: The five most commonly studied Saccharomyces yeast ...