According to the Sanger Institute, the analysis, which is being published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has revealed B. pseudomallei has two large chromosomes that "have acquired whole new regions of DNA, gaining new sets of genes to help the organism to live in humans and other environments."
According to the Sanger Institute, the genome analysis is expected to facilitate the development of new methods to detect and diagnose B. pseudomallei infection, as well as the identification of new targets for vaccines against the pathogen.