Abstract

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) currently provides the greatest molecular resolution available to study how bacteria evolve and how they differ from each other. In order to control the spread of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), it is essential to understand where they arise and how they spread between populations, but bacterial evolution and biology are complex. With the decreasing cost of WGS , genomic epidemiology to untangle the sources, reservoirs and transmission pathways of bacterial pathogens and AMR is possible. In addition, the use of long-read sequencing and metagenomics is allowing deeper investigation of the factors related to bacterial success. In my talk, I will describe how sequencing and genomic epidemiology have been applied to bacteria from different settings and in multiple host populations, and the insight this has provided on the origin and spread of the bacteria and AMR and also to understand the relative importance of different host populations to the overall burden of disease.