The Bacterial Species Challenge: Making Sense of Genetic and Ecological Diversity

@article{Fraser2009TheBS,
  title={The Bacterial Species Challenge: Making Sense of Genetic and Ecological Diversity},
  author={Christophe Fraser and Eric J. Alm and Martin F. Polz and Brian G. Spratt and William P. Hanage},
  journal={Science},
  year={2009},
  volume={323},
  pages={741 - 746}
}
The Bacteria and Archaea are the most genetically diverse superkingdoms of life, and techniques for exploring that diversity are only just becoming widespread. Taxonomists classify these organisms into species in much the same way as they classify eukaryotes, but differences in their biology—including horizontal gene transfer between distantly related taxa and variable rates of homologous recombination—mean that we still do not understand what a bacterial species is. This is not merely a… 
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402 Citations

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