Much is being written these days about integration, its desirability and even its necessity
when complex research problems are to be addressed. Seldom, however, do we hear much …

Speciation as the result of barriers to genetic exchange is the foundation for the general
biological species concept. However, the relevance of genetic exchange for defining …

Horizontal genetic exchange strongly influences the evolution of many bacteria,
substantially contributing to difficulties in defining their position in taxonomic groups. In …

Background For the majority of microbial eukaryotes (protists, algae), there is no clearly
superior species concept that is consistently applied. In the absence of a practical biological …

We review the theoretical implications of findings in genomics for evolutionary biology since
the Modern Synthesis. We examine the ways in which microbial genomics has influenced …

Background Recent developments in the understanding of paralogous evolution have
prompted a focus not only on obviously advantageous genes, but also on genes that can be …

The genus Nocardiopsis, a widespread group in phylum Actinobacteria, has received much
attention owing to its ecological versatility, pathogenicity, and ability to produce a rich array …

Betaproteobacteria include some of the most abundant and ubiquitous bacterial genera that
can be found in drinking water, including mineral water. The combination of physiology and …

Organisms display astonishing levels of cell and molecular diversity, including genome size,
shape, and architecture. In this chapter, we review how the genome can be viewed as both a …

Background When organismal phylogenies based on sequences of single marker genes are
poorly resolved, a logical approach is to add more markers, on the assumption that weak but …