A wide range of microbiologists, molecular biologists, and molecular evolutionary biologists will find this new volume of singular interest. It summarizes the present knowledge about the structure and stability of microbial genomes, and reviews the techniques used to analyze and fingerprint them. Maps of approximately thirty important microbes, along with articles on the construction and relevant features of the maps are included. The volume is not intended as a complete compendium of all information on microbial genomes, but rather focuses on approaches, methods and good examples of the analysis of small genomes.

Bacterial Genomes provides an in-depth review of the latest research on the structure and stability of microbial genomes, and the techniques used to analyze and "fingerprint" them. Maps of a variety of microorganisms are featured, along with articles describing their construction and relevant features. Extensive tables summarizing the different types of techniques available to analyze the genomes of these microorganisms are also presented. Among those who will find this text most useful are genome researchers, microbiologists, molecular biologists, bacteriologists, infectious disease researchers, and molecular evolutionary biologists. Researchers and students working in the field of molecular evolution in general will also be interested in this book since microbes are such popular model systems.