Human Genome Project Information Archive
1990–2003

JGI and "Bermuda-Quality" Sequence

The international sequencing community holds an annual meeting in Bermuda, sponsored by the Wellcome Trust, DOE, and NIH to set standards for DNA sequence with respect to cost, quality, timeliness of submission, and level of annotation. For details, see "Policies on Release of Human Genomic Sequence Data".

Standards for JGI meet or exceed those for "Bermuda-quality."

• Sequencing targets: Megabase-sized (or larger) regions are the preferred targets to maximize biological impact.
• Coverage: Goal is to complete sequence continuity across a target region, as feasible (no more than 1 gap in 200 kb on average).
• Sequence accuracy: The acceptable error rate in finished sequence is 1 in 10,000 bases. JGI is using a rules-based approach for achieving this standard, which requires a minimum Phrap consensus value of 40 for each base and greater than 95% double-stranded coverage, with a minimum coverage of 2 high-quality reads with 1 read on the opposite strand.
• Clone assembly verification: Two independent approaches will be used to verify accuracy of a clone's finished sequence.
• Data submission and annotation: Minimum submission is the size of the starting clone, with 95% of sequence represented on both strands and all ambiguities resolved; sequences will be annotated to the extent feasible at the time of submission, largely automated; immediate release of finished annotated sequence.

The electronic form of the newsletter may be cited in the following style:
Human Genome Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Human Genome News (v9n3).