Includes bibliographical references and index.

The beginning of computational genomics -- Finding sequence similarities -- Homology: can we get it right? -- Getting ready for the era of comparative genomics: the importance of viruses -- The first fact of comparative genomics: protein sequences are remarkably resilient in evolution -- The second fact of comparative genomics: functional convergence at the molecular level -- Prediction of function and reconstruction of metabolism from genomic data: homology-based approaches -- Prediction of function and reconstruction of metabolism: post-homology approaches -- Structural genomics: what does it tell us about life? -- How many protein families are there? -- Phylogenetic inference and the era of complete genomes -- Two stories about evolution -- Minimal and ancestral genomes -- Comparative genomics and systems biology.