Geobacter Genomics
The genus Geobacter is a fascinating microbe with an unconventional metabolism. The bugs "breathe" iron, uranium, and other heavy metals, can be used for bioremediation, and can be harnessed for electricity. Six species have been sequenced at least to draft stage and there are many interesting avenues for exploration in comparative microbial genomics.
One basic question that we have been pursuing recently is the extent and nature of gene conservation and gene loss. To answer this question require the identification of orthologs among multiple species. We are exploring a genome-genome alignment strategy in contrast to the conventional "reciprocal best protein hit" approach. We are also investigating how well conserved co-linear orthologous regions correlated with operon structure. Lastly, we have recently delved into operon detection.
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YiminWu
