Project name: Lactobacillus helveticus CIRM-BIA 104

Description: The complete genome sequences of several pairs of closely related prokaryotes are now available. Surprisingly, even strains of the same species can differ by as much as 20% in gene content. Several analyses of very closely related genomes comparisons reported over thelast years show that there may be as much to learn about diversity. Extensive genomic comparisonsare possible not only between representatives of distant evolutionary phyla, but also between species ofthe same phylogenetic branch where individual evolutionary events can be more readily identified. Theyalso indicate that sequencing of one representative genome give us nowhere near a complete picture ofthe genetic repertoire of any species, and that new and comparative methods will be required.Remarkable innovation in sequencing technologies has been achieved making them high-throughput,faster and more cost effective. The sequencing field has experienced a major shift by the introduction ofinnovation sequencing technologies capableof generating sequence data at a fraction of the cost and much quicker when compared to the Sangermethod. Bacteria are characterized by extensive intraspecies variation. There is not only the sequencevariation found in all species, but also the presence or absence of whole genes or clusters of genes.We propose to apply the sequencing technology developed by Illumina on several strains ofLactobacillus acidophilus and helveticus to enable a comparative study that will link genotype and phenotype at the genomic level.

Data type: Genome sequencing and assembly

Sample scope: Monoisolate

Release date: 2013-10-24