jan 1, 1995 - 1995: Haemophilus Influenzae is the first bacterium genome sequenced

Description:

In 1995, to demonstrate the new strategy of "shotgun" sequencing, J. Craig Venter and colleagues published the first completely sequenced genome of a self-replicating, free-living organism - Haemophilus Influenzae.

Known as H.flu, Haemophilus Influenzae is a bacterium that can cause meningitis and ear and respiratory infections in children. Prior to this breakthrough, scientists had only managed to sequence the genome of a few viruses, which are around ten times shorter than that of H.flu.

The project took around a year and was a remarkable achievement. Its success proved that the random shotgun technique could be applied to whole genomes quickly and accurately, paving the way for future discoveries.

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