The ability to specifically target and modify genes in the mouse allows researchers to use this small rodent to study how certain genes contribute to human disease. A common method used to make genetic changes in mice and cells is called site-specific recombination, where two DNA strands are exchanged.

Ten years ago, the Chinese National Human Genome Center at Shanghai (South Center, hereafter) was established in the Zhangjiang HiTech Park of Pudong District in Shanghai. To commemorate this important event, which marks the beginning of the Genomics Era in China, we specially organize a series of mini-reviews for this special issue.

A potent combination of powerful new analysis methods and abundant data from genomics projects is carrying microbiology forward into a new era. Bacteria in particular are shedding light on fundamental molecular and signalling processes of interest not just within microbiology, but across the whole spectrum of life sciences embracing higher organisms, including plants and vertebrates.

In the near future it will be possible to customise the food we eat to individual needs, based on the genetic profile of the individual. Dutch researcher Amber Ronteltap suggests that the consumer market is not yet ready for this so-called nutrigenomics. Ronteltap concludes that many obstacles must be overcome before products based on nutrigenomics become a reality.

A recent paper published in the journal Plant Physiology provides a comprehensive overview of the genomics tools and resources available for the rapidly growing Rosaceae scientific community.

Walking through a tropical or temperate forest immediately impresses us with the myriad forms and soaring structures of the plant world, but our knowledge of how plants are actually built, cell by cell, is still incomplete.

Though the slow moving purple sea urchin may look oblivious, lacking a head, eyes and ears, this prickly creature has an impressive suite of sensory receptors to detect outside signals. And don't overlook this animal's self-defense abilities: it has much more ammunition to activate its innate immune system than humans have.

Small non-coding RNAs have garnered significant interest for their ability to regulate gene expression. Two papers published by Genome Research have utilized the platypus genome sequence to investigate the conservation of small RNAs and associated functional pathways in the mammalian lineage.

A study led by Brown University biologist Casey Dunn uses new genomics tools to answer old questions about animal evolution. The study is the most comprehensive animal phylogenomic research project to date, involving 40 million base pairs of new DNA data taken from 29 animal species.

Bowling Green State University biology undergraduates will soon be contributing to the body of knowledge in genomics while they learn. The University has been selected as one of 12 institutions nationwide to pilot the new Microbial Genome Annotation research program through the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI).

Giving Nobel Laureate James Watson his personal genome was just the beginning. In a future that promises similar information to much of the population, ethicists, scientists and physicians are only beginning to understand and consider the possibilities.

Until a decade ago, scientists categorized microorganisms almost exclusively by their physical characteristics: how they looked, what they ate, and the by-products they produced. With the advent of genomic sequencing and genetic analysis in the 1990s, our understanding of the relationships between different microorganisms fundamentally changed. In light of this new knowledge, what exactly is the definition of a microbial species, and how should microbiologists be categorizing microorganisms?