Haemophilus influenzae Genome: After Sequencing, Then What?

Haemophilus influenzae is an important human pathogen that causes a number of chronic and acute infections--notably, life-threatening bacteremia and meningitis in infants and community-acquired pneumonia in adults. The technological feat of sequencing the entire H influenzae genome was completed less than a year ago. Now that the genetic instruction manual is available, the task of deciphering its meaning has begun. This search will be a lengthy one, but it holds the promise of finding new ways to prevent, detect, and treat disease. The information gained will also shed light on mechanisms used by other bacterial pathogens and help to increase our understanding of how they cause disease.