In this issue... 

1997 Santa Fe Highlights 
Patrinos Address 
Joint Genome Institute (JGI) Comes of Age 
JGI Sequencing 
JGI Informatics 
JGI and Bermuda Quality Sequence 
Grants Awarded for JGI Collaboration 
JGI Sequencing Clones 
Sequencing Strategies,Tools 
Gene-Discovery Resources 
Sequencing at NIH NHGRI 
Functional Genomics 
Data Surge Challenges Informaticists 
Genome Annotation: Informatics Advances Needed for Age of Functional Genomics 
ELSI: Rapid Progress Accelerates Societal Impact of Genome Research 
1999 DOE HGP Meeting Set for California 

Human Genome Project Administration 
New 5-Year Goals, Project Midpoint 
DOE, NIH Discuss Informatics 
JASON Group Review 
BER Genome Instrumentation Research 

In the News 
Private-Sector Sequencing Plan 
Bang for the Buck: Government-Backed Research Underpins Potentially High Payoff Ventures 
Palmisano Joins DOE OBER 
DNA Files series to be on NPR 
HUGO Addresses Sample Collection 
Sickle Cell Mice May Lead to New Treatments 
TIGR Sequencing 6 More Microbes 
Tuberculosis Microbe Sequenced 
C. Elegans Sequencing Nears Finish 
HGMIS Website Restructured 
cDNA Cloning Workshop Identifies Critical Issues 
Survey Identifies Growing Need for Synchrotron Analyses 
NCGR Announcements 

Publications 
Report on Functional Consequences of Gene Expression 
Book on Tuskegee Conference 
Book Focuses on Biomarker Implications, Conference Proceedings 
Genome Analysis Protocol Handbook 

Software and the Internet 
Mouse Genome Informatics Release 2.0 
New System Identifies Polymorphisms 
DOE Supports Web Site for 1997 AAAS Genome Symposium 
Expressed Human Genome Database 

Funding 
DOE ELSI 
NIH NHGRI 
NHGRI Initiates Mailing List 
U.S. Genome Research Funding 

Meeting Calendars & Acronyms 
Genome and Biotechnology Meetings 
Training Courses and Workshops 
Acronyms 

HGN archives and subscriptions   
HGP Information home 

NHGRI Sequencing Update

Lisa Brooks and Jeff Schloss [NIH National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)] updated the workshop on current projects and future plans for NIH-supported large-scale sequencing. Third-year awards for pilot projects were made this summer after a review that included sequence-quality assessment of clones selected by NHGRI staff. Two checker groups reassemble trace files, assess the assembly quality overall and at the single-base level, and then sequence to resolve discrepancies found in the GenBank record. The original sequencer has the opportunity to review and respond to the evaluation.

NHGRI released an RFA in January for participation in a cooperative research network comprising three areas: sequence-production centers; specialized centers to sequence difficult regions or close gaps, for example, or test new technology, methodology, and instrumentation; and a quality-control center.

Awards are expected to cover up to 3 years for specialized centers and the quality-control center and up to 5 years for production facilities. The network's goal is to complete 1.8 billion bp (60%) of human DNA sequence by 2005, a rate that will require 300 Mb of finished sequence annually between 1999 and 2005. According to Schloss, NHGRI will set aside $60 million a year for production sequencing.

Another NHGRI RFA released in January solicited applications for grants to develop genomic-scale technologies or implement pilot-scale or large-scale projects for the discovery and scoring of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Analysis of such DNA sequence variation is an increasingly important source of information for identifying genes involved both in disease and normal biological processes such as development, aging, and reproduction. A public SNP database, under development at the National Center for Biotechnology Information, is expected to come online later this year.

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).