NHGRI Adds 18 Organisms to Sequencing Pipeline: Strategic Mix Includes Orangutan, Elephant, Cat, Rabbit, and Sea Lamprey
August 4, 2004; Bethesda, MD –- As part of its ongoing
effort to enhance understanding of the human genome, the National Human Genome Research
Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health, announced today that the
Large-Scale Sequencing Research Network has received the green light to begin sequencing
18 strategically-selected organisms, including the Orangutan, African Savannah Elephant, and the
Domestic Cat. In a shift from NHGRI's previous procedure of choosing sequencing targets one at
a time on the basis of proposals from individuals or groups of scientists, the National Advisory
Council for Human Genome Research (NACHGR), a Federally chartered committee that advises
NHGRI on program priorities and goals, recently approved a comprehensive plan that identified
two groups of organisms on the basis of their collective scientific merits.
;
"Science tells us that the most effective approach we currently have to identify the essential
functional and structural components of our own genome is to compare it with the genomes of
other organisms. With each new genome that we sequence, we move closer to the goal of finding
all of the crucial elements of the human genome involved in development, health and disease,"
said Mark S. Guyer, Ph.D., director of NHGRI's Division of Extramural Research. "We hope to
accelerate that process with our new sequencing strategy that identifies the organisms, or sets of
organisms, with the greatest potential to fill gaps in our knowledge."
The first group announced today consists of nine mammals. They were selected because each
organism represents an important position on the evolutionary tree and therefore will contribute a
sequence that will be particularly important in helping to interpret the human genome.
The data from seven of these mammalian genomes will be used primarily in the identification
of features that are similar, or conserved, among the genomes of humans and other mammalian
species. If a DNA sequence has been conserved throughout the evolution of most or all of these
species, thereis a strong likelihood that the sequence constitutes a functionally important region of
the genome.
The seven mammals in this subset are the African savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana), the European common shrew (Sorex araneus), the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europeaus), the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), the lesser hedgehog tenrec (Echinops telfairi), the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) and the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). An eighth mammal, the
domestic cat (Felis
catus) will add valuable data to
the subset, but was selected primarily because of its importance as a medical model for studying
disease.
The ninth mammal, the orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), is a
primate, the animals that are most closely related to humans. NHGRI-supported researchers have
already sequenced the genome of the
chimpanzee (Pan
troglodytes) and are sequencing
the genome of the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). The
orangutan genome will be used in conjunction with these other primates to identify
those features in the human genome that differ among primates. The ultimate goal is to better
define and understand the unique DNA sequences that set primates apart from other mammals and
humans apart from other primates.
The second group chosen for the new sequencing effort includes nine non-mammalian
organisms, each of which represents a position on the evolutionary timeline marked by important
changes in animal anatomy, physiology, development or behavior. The organisms are a slime mold
(Physarum
polycephalum), a ciliate
(Oxytricha
trifallax), a choanoflagellate
(Monosiga
ovata), a placozoan
(Trichoplax
adhaerens), a cnidarian
(Hydra
magnipapillata), a snail
(Biomphalaria
glabrata), two
roundworms (Pristionchus
pacificu, Trichinella spiralis) and the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus).
It is well known that most sequences of the human genome originated long before humans themselves. Consequently, scientists will use the genome sequences of the nine non-mammalian animals to learn more about how, when and why the human genome came to be composed of certain DNA sequences, as well as to gain new insights into organization of genomes. In addition, two of the organisms are also of direct interest to researchers investigating human disease. Trichinella is a parasitic roundworm that is transmitted by eating raw or undercooked pork, and Biomphalaria is a tropical freshwater snail that serves as an intermediate host for the parasitic fluke that causes schistosomiasis, a debilitating disease prevalent in many areas of the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Brazil.
In addition to sequencing this variety of non-human organisms, the NHGRI's sequencing program also plans to advance continuing efforts to catalogue the variations found among genomes of different people. Details of that component of the plan, which is aimed at understanding the role that natural genomic variants play in causing diseases, will be developed at a workshop that NHGRI plans to hold later this summer.
Sequencing efforts will be carried out by the five centers in the NHGRI-supported Large-Scale Sequencing Research Network: Agencourt Bioscience Corp., Beverly, Mass.; Baylor College of Medicine, Houston; the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Mass.; The Institute for Genomic Research, J. Craig Venter Science Foundation Joint Technology Center, Rockville, MD.; and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. Assignment of each organism to a specific center or centers will be determined at a later date.
NHGRI's new selection process began with the formation of two working groups comprised of experts from across the research community. Each of the working groups was responsible for developing a proposal for a set of genomes to sequence that would advance knowledge in one of two important scientific areas: understanding the human genome and understanding the evolutionary biology of genomes. A coordinating committee then reviewed the working groups' proposals, helping to fine-tune the suggestions and integrate them into an overarching set of scientific priorities. The recommendations of the coordinating committee were then reviewed and approved by NACHGR, which in turn forwarded its recommendations regarding sequencing strategy to NHGRI leadership.
During the working groups' deliberations, NHGRI also established an analysis group to help determine the optimal number of species and/or depth of sequence coverage for identifying conserved genome sequences. The analysis group's work will be ongoing, and the participants will continue to evaluate the new sequence data as they are generated to assess how NHGRI's strategy is working and to make any necessary adjustments to the scientific plan.
"Over the past few years, comparative analysis has emerged as an extremely powerful tool for deciphering the human genome sequence. Now, with the data generated by our more systematic approach to selecting sequencing targets, researchers can look forward to using that tool with greater precision and efficiency," said Jane Peterson, Ph.D., associate director of NHGRI's Division of Extramural Research.
In addition to the human and chimpanzee, the genomes of a number of organisms have been or are being sequenced by the large-scale sequencing capacity developed by the Human Genome Project These include the dog, the mouse, the rat, the chicken, the honey bee, two fruit flies, the sea urchin, two puffer fish, two sea squirts, two roundworms, several fungi, baker's yeast and many prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) including Escherichia coli. Additional organisms already in the NHGRI sequencing pipeline are: the macaque, the kangaroo, the cow, the gray short-tailed opossum, the red flour beetle, the flat worm Schimdtea mediterranea, more species of fruit fly and more species of fungi.
To learn more about the rapidly growing field of comparative genomic analysis, go to: www.genome.gov/1005835. For the white papers on other organisms currently in NHGRI's sequencing pipeline, go to: www.genome.gov/10002154 . For more on NHGRI's selection process for large-scale sequencing projects, go to: www.genome.gov/Sequencing/OrganismSelection .
High-resolution photos of the African savannah elephant, domestic cat, domestic guinea pig, sea lamprey, nine-banded armadillo, Oxytricha trifallax slime mold, Trichinella spiralis, and the domestic rabbit are available at: www.genome.gov/10005141.
NHGRI is one of the 27 institutes and centers at NIH, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The NHGRI Division of Extramural Research supports grants for research and for training and career development at sites nationwide. Additional information about NHGRI can be found at its Web site, www.genome.gov .
For more information, contact: Mr. Geoff Spencer, NHGRI; Voice: 301-402-0911; E-mail:spencerg@mail.nih.gov.
[Editorial Remark: Please, oh please, tell me when you're going to get around to the bat? Oh, why do I want the bat? Because it is the most common mammal on the planet, sleeps upside down, and is essentially a winged rodent? No. Because their maximum lifespan is more than triple that of rats and mice for which we already have the sequence done. -- Steve Coles]