In sequence

20 May 2008

Genomic sequencing studies can uncover unexpected findings. Research by a team at the University of Bath has shown that the bacterium responsible for Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, did not originate in America as thought, but in Europe, before the Ice Age.

Meanwhile, the sequence of a newly emerging superbug, ‘Steno’ (Stenotrophomonas maltophilia), completed by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the University of Bristol, has revealed that the bacterium has a high capacity for drug resistance.