Barbara J. May is the first author of a 2001 whole-genome sequencing study of Pasteurella multocida strain Pm70. The team assembled its DNA sequence and identified predicted coding sequences, providing a reference for investigating a bacterial pathogen rather than treating all strains as genetically identical.[ref]
Complete genomic sequence of Pasteurella multocida, Pm70 by Barbara J. May and others. Original byline, Abstract and Table 1
The work also used DNA microarrays to compare gene expression under ordinary and iron-depleted conditions. This connected the sequence catalogue with a physiological perturbation: which measured expression patterns changed when an important nutrient became less available?[ref]
Complete genomic sequence of Pasteurella multocida, Pm70 by Barbara J. May and others. Methods: Microarray Analysis and Isolation of Total RNA; Results: iron acquisition
Prediction and functional demonstration remain different steps. A sequence resembling a transport protein suggests a possible role; an expression change adds evidence of regulation, while directly testing transport or removing the gene asks a further question. The genome resource made such hypotheses more specific without validating every predicted function at once.
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