Meet The Microbiologist - The Scientists Behind The Microbiology

Dave Rasko uses comparative bacterial genomics to find DNA sequences that influence virulence or antibiotic resistance. Dave talks about his studies of E. coli, Acinetobacter baumanii, and B. anthracis, and the state of bacterial genomics past, present, and future. Host: Julie Wolf Subscribe (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the ASM Podcast app. Julie's biggest takeaways: Genome sequencing speed has significantly increased: The first bacterial genome sequenced, Haemophilus influenzae, took about 10 years to complete. The first organism with two sequenced genomes was Helicobacter pylori, published in 1999, and the first organism with three published genomes was Escherichia coli. Rasko’s initial project at TIGR to sequence 11 E. coli genomes took about 2 years. Today, Rasko’s lab can sequence 500 genomes in about five days.   In E. coli, up to half of the genome can differ between two strains. The core genome is the collection of genes that will be