Exploring bacterial epigenomics in the next-generation sequencing era: a new approach for an emerging frontier

Highlights • Genome sequencing projects coupled with bioinformatics tools will aid identification of DNA modification. • Knowledge of the bacterial epigenome will help understand dynamic changes in gene expression that regulates the bacterial life cycle. • Integrating NGS and bioinformatics empowers estimation of complex epigenome networks that provides new hypotheses for biological validation. • Availability of thousands of genomes ushers in a new era for epigenomic discovery to define bacterial regulatory networks with increased precision.