THE infamous bacterium Escherichia coli has had its entire genome
mapped, according to a report published in last week鈥檚 Science (vol
277, p 1453).
A team led by Frederick Blattner of the University of Wisconsin in Madison
sequenced the bacterium鈥檚 genome, which contains 4403 genes. Although the human
genome is 25 times as large, E. coli鈥檚 genome is regarded as a useful
model for most of life鈥檚 biochemistry. 鈥淭o find the function of human genes, you
can get a clue by comparing them to model organisms like E. coli,鈥� says
Blattner.