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Updated: Oct 1, 2026

Monitoring Intraspecies Competition in a Bacterial Cell Population by Cocultivation of Fluorescently Labelled Strains
Published on: January 18, 2014
Redefining bacterial populations: a post-genomic reformation
Elizabeth A Joyce1, Kaman Chan, Nina R Salama
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 299 Campus Drive, Fairchild D 037, Stanford, California 94305-5402, USA. ejoyce@stanford.edu
Abstract:
Sexual reproduction and recombination are essential for the survival of most eukaryotic populations. Until recently, the impact of these processes on the structure of bacterial populations has been largely overlooked. The advent of large-scale whole-genome sequencing and the concomitant development of molecular tools, such as microarray technology, facilitate the sensitive detection of recombination events in bacteria. These techniques are revealing that bacterial populations are comprised of isolates that show a surprisingly wide spectrum of genetic diversity at the DNA level. Our new awareness of this genetic diversity is increasing our understanding of population structures and of how these affect host pathogen relationships.
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