[Progress on the genomics of lactic acid bacteria--a review]

With the advances and cost reducing of DNA-sequencing, genome determination for many microorganisms becomes available. For the research of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), this progress will not only facilitate to understand their nature of hereditary constitution, but also gradually leads to the possibility for analysis and further control of their biological functions. At present, the whole genome for 22 strains of LAB have been completed and published, at least another 12 strains of LAB are under sequencing. Based on the published data, we described the research progression of LAB genomics from four aspects, including general features, diversity of metabolism, evolution and colinearity.