Macroevolutionary patterns in microbial genomes and regulomes

Abstract

Microbes defy our most basic ideas about evolution. Their ability to exchange DNA in fast ecological time-scales makes of microbial genomes highly dynamic entities, constantly reshaped by a mixture of ecological and evolutionary forces. On top of this dynamics, gene interactions produce the complex phenotype repertoires needed to adapt to fast variations in the environment. Otto Cordero's research shows how the processes of microbial genome evolution gives shape to some of the patterns found in the organization of gene-gene interaction networks in microbes. On the other hand, the work presented in Otto Cordero's thesis reveals novel lineage specific trends in the organization of regulatory networks, which point out that gene regulation could be one of the most important factors characterizing the major prokaryotic lineages. Otto Cordero's thesis establishes some novel trends and patterns in the organization of microbial genomes and regulomes across the prokaryotic kingdom. These findings set basic groundmarks towards the better understanding of the genomic mechanisms that underlie prokaryotic biodiversity.