Gambling on a shortcut to genome sequencing

Journal Article · Fri Jun 21 00:00:00 EDT 1991 · Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.2047871· OSTI ID:5821657

Roberts, L

Almost from the start of the Human Genome Project, a debate has been raging over whether to sequence the entire human genome, all 3 billion bases, or just the genes - a mere 2% or 3% of the genome, and by far the most interesting part. In England, Sydney Brenner convinced the Medical Research Council (MRC) to start with the expressed genes, or complementary DNAs. But the US stance has been that the entire sequence is essential if we are to understand the blueprint of man. Craig Venter of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says that focusing on the expressed genes may be even more useful than expected. His strategy involves randomly selecting clones from cDNA libraries which theoretically contain all the genes that are switched on at a particular time in a particular tissue. Then the researchers sequence just a short stretch of each clone, about 400 to 500 bases, to create can expressed sequence tag or EST. The sequences of these ESTs are then stored in a database. Using that information, other researchers can then recreate that EST by using polymerase chain reaction techniques.

• OSTI ID: 5821657
• Journal Information: Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States), Vol. 252:5013; ISSN 0036-8075
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
GENETIC MAPPING
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CHROMOSOMES
DATA PROCESSING
DNA SEQUENCING
DNA-CLONING
GENE AMPLIFICATION
MAN
POLYMERASES
ANIMALS
CLONING
DNA HYBRIDIZATION
ENZYMES
HYBRIDIZATION
MAMMALS
MAPPING
NUCLEOTIDYLTRANSFERASES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PHOSPHORUS-GROUP TRANSFERASES
PRIMATES
PROCESSING
PROTEINS
STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
TRANSFERASES
VERTEBRATES
550400* - Genetics