Daniel Falush

Abstract Are quantitative traits important for bacteriology? The quantitative trait models used in animal and plant genetics assume that the trait takes continuous values and is influenced by many variants circulating in the population, each of which acts approximately independently. Amongst the many continuous-valued bacterial traits such as cell size or antibiotic minimum inhibitory concentration, we do not know of any for which these assumptions have been validated.

Abstract Salmonella enterica causes severe food-borne infections through contamination of the food supply chain. Its evolution has been associated with human activities, especially animal husbandry. Advances in intensive farming and global transportation have substantially reshaped the pig industry, but their impact on the evolution of associated zoonotic pathogens such as S. enterica remains unresolved.

Abstract Helicobacter pylori, a dominant member of the gastric microbiota, shares co-evolutionary history with humans. This has led to the development of genetically distinct H. pylori subpopulations associated with the geographic origin of the host and with differential gastric disease risk. Here, we provide insights into H. pylori population structure as a part of the Helicobacter pylori Genome Project (HpGP), a multi-disciplinary initiative aimed at elucidating H.