The importance of genome sequence quality to microbial comparative genomics

The quality of microbial genome sequences has been a concern ever since the emergence of genome sequencing. The quality of the genome assemblies is dependent on the sequencing technology used and the aims for which the sequence was generated. Novel sequencing and bioinformatics technologies are not intrinsically better than the older technologies, although they are generally more efficient. In this correspondence, the importance for comparative genomics of additional manual assembly efforts over autoassembly and careful annotation is emphasized.