BACTERIAL GENOMICS AND ADAPTATION TO LIFE ON PLANTS - IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EVOLUTION OF PATHOGENICITY AND SYMBIOSIS

Many bacteria form intimate associations with plants. Despite the agri cultural and biotechnological significance of these bacteria, no whole genome sequences have yet been described. Plant-associated bacteria f orm a phylogenetically diverse group, with representative species from many major taxons. Sequence information from genomes of closely relat ed bacteria, in combination with technological developments in the fie ld of functional genomics, provides new opportunities for determining the origin and evolution of traits that contribute to bacterial fitnes s and interactions with plant hosts.