A proper understanding of the diversity, systematics and nomenclature of microbes is increasingly important in many branches of biological science. The molecular approach to phylogenetic analysis, pioneered by Carl Woese in the 1970s and leading to the three-domain model (Archaea, Bacteria, Eucarya), has revolutionized our thinking about evolution in the microbial world.

The technological innovation of modern molecular biology and the rapid advancement in computational science have led to a flood of nucleic acid sequence information, bioinformatic tools and phylogenetic inference methods. Phylogenetic analysis has long played a central role in microbiology and the emerging fields of comparative genomics and phylogenomics require substantial knowledge and understanding of phylogenetic analysis and computational methods.

Further reading: Molecular Phylogeny of Microorganisms

Labels: Bioinformatic tools, Carl Woese, Comparative genomics, Molecular Phylogeny, Nomenclature of microbes, Phylogenetic analysis, Phylogenetic inference methods, Phylogenomics