Combining Genome-Scale Experimental and Computational Methods To Identify Essential Genes in Rhodobacter sphaeroides

Abstract

Knowledge about the role of genes under a particular growth condition is required for a holistic understanding of a bacterial cell and has implications for health, agriculture, and biotechnology. We developed the Tn-seq analysis software (TSAS) package to provide a flexible and statistically rigorous workflow for the high-throughput analysis of insertion mutant libraries, advanced the knowledge of gene essentiality in R. sphaeroides , and illustrated how Tn-seq data can be used to more accurately identify genes that play important roles in metabolism and other processes that are essential for cellular survival.