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 

Report on Functional Consequences of Gene Expression

The final report of the workshop, "Functional Consequences of Gene Expression in Health and Disease," held March 31 to April 3, 1997, in San Antonio, Texas, has been published by DOE (see Report Access information at bottom of this article).

At the workshop were experts representing genetics, biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, physiology, oncology, radiology, and nuclear medicine. They discussed with DOE representatives the expectations and possibilities for helping clinical investigators and physicians use the vast new knowledge coming from the Human Genome Project. A workshop goal was to identify (1) functional units in terms of biochemical circuits within such complex adaptive systems as the human body that can be observed in vivo and described as a consequence of interacting substrates in response to specific gene expression; (2) useful, practical, and economical tools for in vivo observations of metabolic and functional circuits in response to gene expression in individuals; and (3) promising applications of these concepts and tools for medical research and practice. Specific models, radiopharmaceuticals, measurement techniques, instrumentation, and methods for linking recognized phenotypic molecular expressions to individual genotypes are crucial to the task.

Broad discussions clarified individual perceptions of concepts, tools, and applications. These sessions were followed by presentations of experimental data on various aspects of signal transduction and pathways in cellular metabolism. Also covered were the technology of studying the relationship between genes and particular metabolic reactions and phenomena in specific organs, and respective modeling and data interpretation. In this context, genotype and phenotype linkage as active in both directions was reemphasized. Immediate research opportunities exist for studying various specific metabolic reaction circuits in recognized linkage to gene expression in neurology, cardiology, oncology, and gerontology.

The workshop concluded with a plea to exploit new opportunities created by the genome program's success, integrate diverse efforts, and optimize resources.

Workshop Report Access:

• Web
• Phone: 301/903-3123
• E-mail: roland.hirsch@oer.doe.gov
• Mail (fee charged): Office of Scientific and Technocal Information; P.O. Box 62; Oak Ridge, TN 34831-8062

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).