The Bacillus subtilis genome sequence: the molecular blueprint of a soil bacterium

The rate at which entire microbial genomes are being sequenced has accelerated rapidly over the past two years, promising to revolutionise our understanding of microbial molecular biology and genetics. The Bacillus subtilis genome sequence is the first complete genome of a free-living soil and rhizosphere bacterium. Data derived from the genome sequence and the systematic functional analysis programme, together with the wealth of knowledge already available for this organism, open up new opportunities to study the behaviour and ecology of this soil and plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium at the molecular level. In this review we examine the Bacillus subtilis 168 genome sequence in the light of clues it might provide for the role of this species in natural environments and discuss suitable methods for applying the available data and resources to the study of this and related organisms in natural systems. z 1999 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.