Analysis and annotation of microbial genome sequences.

The interpretation of sequenced genomes, both directly and through detailed comparison, represents an essential foundation for post-genome biological studies. The Department of Energy’s pioneering Microbial Genome Initiative and Microbial Cell Project have opened up an amazing new domain of genome analysis — environmentally relevant microbes. Over billions of years of evolution, microbes, and communities of microbes, have found homes in every conceivable environment on Earth, from boiling thermal vents at the ocean’s bottom to Arctic flows (1). These microbes live on and make diverse sources of energy including biomass, methane and hydrogen. They also use many different substances as energy sources, including some that we consider toxic wastes. Microbes comprise more than 50% of the earth’s biomass (1), further pointing to the value of microbial activity in maintaining the earth’s biosphere. Microbes are the foundation of the biosphere, controlling earth’s biogeochemical cycles and affecting the productivity of the soil, quality of water and global climate (2). Indeed, the ability of this planet to sustain life is completely dependent on microbial activity.