Archive Site Provided for Historical Purposes
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Program
In this issue...
DOE '99 Oakland Highlights
Genome Project
In the News
Microbial Genomics
Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues
Informatics
Web, Other Resources, Publications
Funding
Meeting Calendars & Acronyms
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MegaBACE DNA Sequencing Machines
Accelerated goals are challenging the major Human Genome Project sequencing centers to restructure and streamline their processes. The Joint Genome Institute (JGI) Production Sequencing Facility is using 84 new high-throughput MegaBACE DNA sequencing machines acquired from Amersham Pharmacia Biotech. These machines use multiple thin "capillary" tubes instead of large flat gels to separate and "read" the DNA sequence. The technology was developed largely with funding from the DOE Human Genome Program and licensed to AP Biotech.
JGI's current sequencing targets are human chromosomes 5, 16, and 19, which together contain about 300 Mb of DNA or about 10% of the entire human genome. Sequencing director Trevor Hawkins reports that as of September20, JGI had produced 31.2 Mb of finished sequence and about 41Mb of draft sequence (see "HGP Sequencing Progress"). The Genome Annotation Consortium is joining with JGI for sequence analysis (see "Informatics" for details), and Stanford University will be part of the finishing effort.
The electronic form of the newsletter may be cited in the following style:
Human Genome Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Human Genome News (v10n3-4).
The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international 13-year effort, 1990 to 2003. Primary goals were to discover the complete set of human genes and make them accessible for further biological study, and determine the complete sequence of DNA bases in the human genome. See Timeline for more HGP history.
Published from 1989 until 2002, this newsletter facilitated HGP communication, helped prevent duplication of research effort, and informed persons interested in genome research.