Lost the catalase activity characteristic of the parental Mechlorethamine hydrochloride isolate. Because the KatA gene product is not found in spores, we consider it unlikely that the absence of this activity would impact the resistance of spores to decontamination reagents, and thus any antioxidant resistance phenotype exhibited by spores of ”military” isolates would likely have gone unnoticed. However, direct comparisons of the ”military” B. atrophaeus lineages to the progenitor strains have not been done, and pleiotropic effects of a spo0F mutation on spore physiology cannot currently be excluded. Whole-genome approaches are becoming critical components of microbial forensics. The SNPs and indels identified in the analysis of evidentiary materials currently become the basis for higherthroughput assays to screen large numbers of samples. Decreasing costs of whole-genome sequencing, and the comprehensive nature of the analysis, may make this the preferred method of forensic analysis of microbial samples in the future. With recently developed techniques of allele quantitation within populations by mass spectrometry, real-time PCR, and census-bysequencing, it may be possible to quantitate accurately rare alleles within any given microbial population. We are particularly intrigued by the possibility that, given a mixture of different variants and sufficient sequencing power, ultra-high coverage sequencing may prove to be a more quantitative means of enumerating the relative populations in a sample even before the presence of variants has been established. The results from sequencing two strains of BACI051 in this study provide evidence of such hidden diversity. Like the earlier work, our study highlights the utility of approaches based on wholegenome sequencing for the discrimination of closely related strains, especially when investigating the provenance for a given isolate. Tragically, at least 13 institutions are known to have destroyed archival collections of Select Agents following the implementation of mandatory monitoring and reporting requirements, representing an incalculable loss of phenotypic and genomic diversity. This report underscores the importance of maintaining the genetic heritage preserved in the culture collections of individual investigators and institutions. This virus is an important opportunistic pathogen affecting individuals whose immune functions are compromised or immature. For example, HCMV is a leading cause of retinitis-associated blindness and other debilitating conditions such as pneumonia and enteritis among AIDS patients. Moreover, this virus causes mental and behavioral dysfunctions in children that have been infected in utero. Understanding the mechanism of how HCMV replicates and how viral proteins interact is critical in developing new compounds and novel strategies to control HCMV infections and prevent HCMV-associated diseases. HCMV is the largest human herpesvirus, which encodes more than 150 open reading frames. Its virion structure is also the largest and most complicated among human herpesviruses. Like other herpesviruses, HCMV virion is composed of an icosahedral capsid that contains a linear double stranded DNA genome with attached proteins and an outer layer of proteins termed the tegument, surrounded by a viral envelope, which is derived from the cellular lipid bilayer and contains viral envelope glycoproteins. The capsid, which is exclusively Ginsenoside-F2 assembled in the nucleus, contains five viral proteins encoded by open reading frame UL86 ), UL85, UL80, UL48.5, and UL46. The structure of the HCMV capsid has been studied by cryoelectron microscopy and recently refined to a resolution of 12.5 A. In addition, interactions between capsid proteins have been investigated by yeast two-hybrid analysis as well as numerous biochemical and genetic approaches. In contrast, the structure of 
the HCMV tegument is largely unknown. By cryoEM, an icosahedrally ordered tegument density was visualized in HCMV particles when compared to precursor capsids prior to DNA encapsidation.