Dept. of Molecular Biosciences The University of Texas at Austin

Howard Ochman

Howard Ochman

Professor, Department of Molecular Biosciences

We apply experimental, comparative and computational approaches to investigate the factors contributing to the evolution of bacterial genomes and microbial communities. Some of our current projects investigate:

The role of adaptive and non-adaptive processes in bacterial genome evolution
The causes and consequences of genome reduction in bacterial pathogens
The origins of new genes and functional complexity
The microbial community diversity residing in Great Ape hosts


Academic History

Professional History

Awards and Honors

Current Research Support

Scientific Activities

Dissertations Directed

Recent Publications (last three years)

Hart R., N. A. Moran, and H. Ochman (2025) Genomic divergence across the tree of life. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2025 Mar 11;122(10):e2319389122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2319389122. [Epub]

Uz-Zaman M. H., S. D'Alton, J. E. Barrick, and H. Ochman (2024). Promoter recruitment drives the emergence of proto-genes in a long-term evolution experiment with Escherichia coli. PLoS Biol. 22(5):e3002418. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002418

Ochman H., E. M. Quandt, N. Gottell, and J. A. Gilbert (2024) Examining the taxonomic distribution of tetracycline resistance in a wastewater plant. Sustain Microbiol. 1(1):qvad003. doi: 10.1093/sumbio/qvad003

Kirchberger P. C. and H. Ochman (2023) Microviruses: A World Beyond phi X174. Annu Rev Virol. 10(1):99-118. doi: 10.1146/annurev-virology-100120-011239.

Cobo-Simón M., R. Hart, and H. Ochman (2023) Gene flow and species boundaries of the genus Salmonella. mSystems. 8(4):e0029223. doi: 10.1128/msystems.00292-23

Cobo-Simón M., R. Hart, and H. Ochman (2023) Escherichia coli: What is and Which are?. Mol Biol Evol.40(1):msac273. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msac273.