GeneFarm, structural and functional annotation of Arabidopsis gene and protein families by a network of experts.

Genomic projects heavily depend on genome annotations and are limited by the current deficiencies in the published predictions of gene structure and function. It follows that, improved annotation will allow better data mining of genomes, and more secure planning and design of experiments. The purpose of the GeneFarm project is to obtain homogeneous, reliable, documented and traceable annotations for Arabidopsis nuclear genes and gene products, and to enter them into an added-value database.

Comparative genomics of Listeria species.

Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen with a high mortality rate that has also emerged as a paradigm for intracellular parasitism. We present and compare the genome sequences of L. monocytogenes (2,944,528 base pairs) and a nonpathogenic species, L.

The virulence plasmid pWR100 and the repertoire of proteins secreted by the type III secretion apparatus of Shigella flexneri.

Bacteria of Shigella spp. are the causative agents of shigellosis. The virulence traits of these pathogens include their ability to enter into epithelial cells and induce apoptosis in macrophages.

Fermentative metabolism of Bacillus subtilis: physiology and regulation of gene expression.

Bacillus subtilis grows in the absence of oxygen using nitrate ammonification and various fermentation processes. Lactate, acetate, and 2,3-butanediol were identified in the growth medium as the major anaerobic fermentation products by using high-performance liquid chromatography. Lactate formation was found to be dependent on the lctEP locus, encoding lactate dehydrogenase and a putative lactate permease.