Although H. parasuis remains a concern to producers in the United States, it remains a challenging microorganism to study and thus control. For example, since H. parasuis is difficult to culture and exists as multiple serotypes, effective, cross protective vaccines are not available. Identifying all of the genes in H. parasuis by DNA sequencing represents a powerful new strategy to better understand how the bacterium grows, its mechanisms of virulence, and to potentially identify new strategies for its detection and elimination. Fortunately, the recent advent of new sequencing technologies has dramatically reduced the cost of whole-genome sequencing. We have used one of these new sequencing systems (454, FLX system) to determine the DNA sequence of the majority (more than 99%) of the H. parasuis strain 29755 genome. The raw sequence information is continually being analyzed to understand how this microorganism grows and causes disease. Specifically, through collaborations with swine respiratory disease researchers at the National Animal Disease Center, we have identified and begun to characterize new genes encoding outer membrane proteins that may be used in future vaccine trials as a broadly protective antigen. As additional H. parasuis genomes are sequenced, we will be able to perform comparative studies to identify genes that are unique to highly virulent strains, as well as sequences that are shared among multiple isolates. These sequences can potentially be used in PCR-based diagnostic assays to differentiate between H. parasuis strains. Although the formal sequencing phase of this project is completed, analysis of the data continues, both by us and by H. parasuis researchers world-wide. The draft sequence information has been uploaded to the National Center for Biotechnology Information Genome Project Center, a depository of sequence information maintained by the U.S. government. This allows investigators to access to the draft sequence of the H. parasuis genome for their own analysis. This draft genome represents the first sequence of H. parasuis available to the public and should yield new insights and applications into H. parasuis for years to come.