Comparative genomics has been a valuable method for extracting and extrapolating genome information among closely related bacteria. The efficiency of the traditional methods is extremely influenced by the software method used. To overcome the problem here, we propose using wavelet analysis to perform comparative genomics. First, global comparison using wavelet analysis gives the difference at a quantitative level. Then local comparison using keto-excess or purine-excess plots shows precise positions of inversions, translocations, and horizontally transferred DNA fragments.We firstly found that the level of energy spectra difference is related to the similarity of bacteria strains; it could be a quantitative index to describe the similarities of genomes. The strategy is described in detail by comparisons of closely related strains: S.typhi CT18, S.typhi Ty2, S.typhimurium LT2, H.pylori 26695, and H.pylori J99.

Rhizobia, bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen, are important agricultural resources. In order to establish the evolutionary relationships among rhizobia isolated from different geographic regions and different plant hosts for systematic studies, we evaluated the use of physical structure of the rhizobial genomes as a phylogenetic marker to categorize these bacteria. In this work, we analyzed the features of genome structures of 64 rhizobial strains. These rhizobial strains were divided into 21 phylogenetic clusters according to the features of genome structures evaluated by the endonuclease I-CeuI. These clusters were supported by 16S rRNA comparisons and genomic sequences of four rhizobial strains, but they are largely different from those based on the current taxonomic scheme (except 16S rRNA).

目的通过基因组结构分析对临床分离的Eseherichia coil（E.coli）进行分型, 并探讨分型与临床疾病的关系。方法取临床不同疾病病人的痰、尿、血、分泌物等标本，分离E.coil。用I-Ceu I酶切全基因组DNA，用脉冲场凝胶电泳分离DNA片段后，根据酶切图谱的异同进行分型。结果从临床上分离的64株E.coli中，62株有7个I-Ceu I酶切位点，2株有8个I-Ceu I酶切位点。菌株间I-Ceu I酶切图谱差异明显。这些菌株根据基因组结构的差异分为32个型，分型与疾病之间的对应关系分散。结论临床分离的E.coli基因组结构存在多样性，其与临床疾病之间的关系有待进一步探讨。

Genomic rearrangements (duplications and inversions) in enteric bacteria such as Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 and Escherichia coli K12 are frequent (10-3 to 10-5) in culture, but in wild-type strains these genomic rearrangements seldom survive. However, inversions commonly survive in the terminus of replication (TER) region, where bidirectional DNA replication terminates; nucleotide sequences from S. enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2, S. enterica serovar Typhi CT18, E. coli K12, and E. coli O157:H7 revealed genomic inversions spanning the TER region. Assuming that S. enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 represents the ancestral genome structure, we found an inversion of 556 kb in serovar Typhi CT18 between two of the 25 IS200 elements and an inversion of about 700 kb in E. coli K12 and E. coli O157:H7. In addition, there is another inversion of 500 kb in E. coli O157:H7 compared with E. coli K12. PCR analysis confirmed that all S. enterica serovar Typhi strains tested, but not strains of other Salmonella serovars, have an inversion at the exact site of the IS200 insertions. We conclude that inversions of the TER region survive because they do not significantly change replication balance or because they are part of the compensating mechanisms to regain chromosome balance after it is disrupted by insertions, deletions, or other inversions.

Salmonella paratyphi A, a human-adapted bacterial pathogen, causes paratyphoid enteric fever. We established the genome map of strain ATCC 9150 by the use of four endonucleases, XbaI, I-CeuI, AvrII (5 BlnI), and SpeI, which generated 27, 7, 19, and 38 fragments, respectively; the sum of the fragments in each case indicates a genome size of ca. 4,600 kb. With phage P22, we transduced Tn10 insertions in known genes from Salmonella typhimurium LT2 to S. paratyphi A ATCC 9150 and located these insertions on the S. paratyphi A chromosome through the XbaI and AvrII sites in Tn10 and through the increased size of the SpeI fragment bearing a Tn10. Compared with the maps of other Salmonella species, the S. paratyphi A genomic map showed two major differences: (i) an insertion of about 100 kb of DNA between rrnH/G and proB and (ii) an inversion of half the genome between rrnH and rrnG, postulated to be due to homologous recombination between the rrn genes. We propose that during the evolution of S. paratyphi A, the first rearrangement event was the 100-kb insertion, which disrupted the chromosomal balance between oriC and the termination of replication, forcing the rrnH/G inversion to restore the balance. The insertion and the inversion are both present in all 10 independent wild-type S. paratyphi A strains tested.