Description
In this three part short course, Stephanie Lunn introduces the molecular microbiology and genomics of bacterial pathogens, including:
- What encompasses a bacterial genome, and how is it organized?
- What are the important assumptions and principles of bacterial genomes when performing bioinformatic analysis and using them for genomic epidemiology?
- An introduction to the core, accessory, and pan genome.
- A discussion of horizontal gene transfer, including impacts to the genome and implications for genomic epidemiological inference.
Learning Objectives
Part I
- List some assumptions of bacterial genomes
- Explain the association between bacterial genome size and number of ORFs
- Explain the minimal genome concept in relation to bacterial lifestyles
- Give examples of content found in the genome
- Explain the functional category of genes as a percentage of the genome
Part II
- What are some additional assumptions of bacterial genomes?
- Be able to explain the difference between core genome, pan genome, and accessory genome
- Understand different considerations when deciding on core genome and pan genome approaches
Part III
- Briefly describe the fate of DNA that enters the cell through horizontal gene transfer
- Define recombination; briefly describe the difference between nonhomologous recombination and homologous recombination
- Briefly describe the three mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer in bacteria: transformation, transduction, and conjugation
- Briefly explain how these mechanisms can influence the core genome, accessory genome, and pan-genome