Genomic Data Analyses Unveil Cases of Polygenic Evolution

Short-read sequencing is revolutionizing our understanding of how microbes evolve. Scientists working in academic laboratories now routinely sequence the genomes or transcriptomes of hundreds of microbial isolates, a prelude to addressing questions about what those data tell us. For evolutionary biologists, a central goal is to understand how new phenotypes arise in response to environmental changes. The answer to such questions lies somewhere among the molecular profiles of wild strains, including the genes that enable pathogens to adapt to hosts or halophiles to high-salt conditions.