Much of microbiology is rooted in genetics. Classical genetic tools provided the ability to explore the operation of the microbial cell even before DNA sequencing was possible. Elegant genetic experiments helped to reveal the nature of the gene, the basis for information processing in the cell, biochemical pathways, evolutionary processes and transfer of genetic material. The advent of efficient DNA sequencing that ushered in the genomics age, far from making genetics irrelevant, instead highlighted the potential power of genetic techniques that are able to harness the genome sequence data that suddenly became available. Combining genetic tools, ease of gene synthesis, and ever more powerful DNA sequencing technologies has contributed to the growth of both synthetic biology and molecular microbial ecology. Major impact is also being felt in industrial microbiology. Solid understanding of the fundamentals of bacterial molecular genetics is needed for progress in these important emerging areas.

The proposed book would build on the genetic processes and tools that have been developed in model organisms, but move beyond, towards the application of molecular genetics in bacteria that are of environmental, industrial and medical importance. This will include consideration of how microbes interact within communities. Each chapter will have three minipapers (a feature that Charles introduced in Wessner Microbiology). Minipapers are digests of published articles that illustrate the concepts that are developed in the text. At least one minipaper will be fundamental in nature, and one will be applied, as each chapter moves along the fundamental / applied continuum. Throughout the book, attempts will be made to provide examples that demonstrate the dynamic nature of bacterial genetics research.