Michael D. Krepps

TL;DR: Comparative genome analysis indicates that, while the Georgian strains are the nearest neighbors to the 2011 outbreak isolates sequenced to date, structural and nucleotide-level differences are evident in the Stx2 phage genomes, the mer/tet antibiotic resistance island, and in the prophage and plasmid profiles of the strains; and multiphenotype analysis showed that 2009EL–2071 possessed higher resistance to polymyxin and membrane-disrupting agents.

TL;DR: It is shown that adaptive mutations arise repeatedly in independently evolved populations in the context of greatly increased genetic and phenotypic diversity and can provide a “one-step” mechanism of adaptation to a novel environment, which highlights the importance of global resource management as a powerful strategy to adaptation.

TL;DR: The power of whole-genome and modern systems-level approaches to characterize microbial lineages to develop and validate forensic markers for strain discrimination and reveal signatures of deliberate adaptation is demonstrated.

TL;DR: A strategy of introducing small genetic signatures (“barcodes”) into neutral regions of the genome to create a set of genetically heterogeneous yet phenotypically indistinguishable strains so that variables intrinsic to simulations can be varied and the strains can be tested under otherwise identical conditions.

TL;DR: To assay genetic diversity of Plague isolates within confined geographic areas, draft genome sequences were generated by 454 pyrosequencing from nine environmental and clinical plague isolates and allowed the identification of new putative SNPs that differentiate the 2009 isolates from previously sequenced plague strains and from each other.