The pathogenic bacterium Helicobacter pylori infects half of the human population and it is
one of the most genetically diverse bacterial species known. The unusual combination of
high frequencies of mutation and recombination events together with a very small size of
DNA fragments imported into the genome after recombination, contribute to its genetic
variability. In this review article, we discuss the genetic variability of H. pylori, the
mechanisms that generate diversity, and the potential relevance of genetic variability to …