Novel computational methods in anti-microbial target identification

The large number of microbial genome sequences currently available facilita tes completely new methods of cross-genome analyses, which aid in target id entification and prioritization for anti-microbial drug discovery. This art icle provides a review of novel computational methods in this context. Geno me comparison methods are described that are suitable for the generation of a 'periodic table of microbial functions' that will help to detect novel c ellular functions and metabolic networks.