Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the genetic analysis of intractable microbes. More particularly, the present disclosure provides materials and methods that incorporate chemical mutagenesis, phenotypic selection, suppression analysis, and genomic sequencing-based mutational mapping, to identify novel genetic regulators in previously intractable organisms, such as microbes that constitute the human microbiome. Given the paucity of experimental tools to manipulate bacterial genomes, there is a need for improved methods for determining how microbial communities assemble and influence human and environmental health.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the genetic analysis of intractable microbes. More particularly, the present disclosure provides materials and methods that incorporate chemical mutagenesis, phenotypic selection, suppression analysis, and genomic sequencing-based mutational mapping, to identify novel genetic regulators in previously intractable organisms, such as microbes that constitute the human microbiome. Given the paucity of experimental tools to manipulate bacterial genomes, there is a need for improved methods for determining how microbial communities assemble and influence human and environmental health.