In silico prediction of human pathogenicity in the γ-proteobacteria.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although the majority of bacteria are innocuous or even beneficial for their host, others are highly infectious pathogens that can cause widespread and deadly diseases. When investigating the relationships between bacteria and other living organisms, it is therefore essential to be able to separate pathogenic organisms from non-pathogenic ones. Using traditional experimental methods for this purpose can be very costly and time-consuming, and also uncertain since animal models are not always good predictors for pathogenicity in humans. Bioinformatics-based methods are therefore strongly needed to mine the fast growing number of genome sequences and assess in a rapid and reliable way the pathogenicity of novel bacteria.

Methodology/principal findings

We describe a n

SUBMITTER: Andreatta M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2965111 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature