FLICKR, MASAHIKO OHKUBO
Genomic sequencing of samples from multiple patients during a bacterial epidemic has revealed gene mutations that give the bugs a selective advantage. The large-scale sequencing approach, which is reported today (November 13) in Nature Genetics, should help researchers find chinks in the armor of a wide range of human pathogens.
“This is a really superb study,” said Richard Lenski of Michigan State University, who was not involved in the study, “[It] shows how the tools and approaches of genomics, epidemiology, and evolutionary biology can be combined to give new insights into disease.”
Roy Kishony of Harvard Medical School, who led the research, said in an email that the aim of the study was “to ask, what does a pathogen experience while infecting the human body, ...
