Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

So many genomes, so little time

Nature Biotechnology volume 18, pages 148–149 (2000)Cite this article

The era of genome sequencing is well underway. Indeed, sequencing projects are so successfully transforming biomedical research that plans are already in place for the high-throughput analysis of gene function and the determination of a complete set of basic protein folds. In the meantime, current investments in labor and equipment are such that sequencing will likely continue for some time at the rate of roughly one vertebrate genome per year. Which species should we sequence and in what order? In this issue, Göttgens et al. shed some light on this question, and demonstrate how comparative sequence analysis can be combined with a high-throughput transgenic bioassay1.

The widespread use of the mouse as an experimental model of human biology, coupled with our relatively good understanding of its biology, provided such a compelling case that no other animal was given serious consideration as the second vertebrate genome to be sequenced. But which should be the third? Candidates include puffer fish2, chicken3, and rat4. The use of a particular genome sequence to facilitate the functional analysis of the human sequence should be a pivotal consideration. Currently, few hard data exist for determining which species would be most informative in this regard.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Percentage identity plots of alignments between the human SCL gene and homologous regions from mouse and chicken.

References

  1. Göttgens, B. et al. Nat. Biotechnol. 18, 181– 186 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Aparicio, S. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 1684 –1688 (1995)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Duret, L. & Bucher, P. Curr. Biol. 7, 399–406 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Jacob, H.J. Genome Res. 9, 1013–1016 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Morgenstern, B., Frech, K., Dress, A. & Werner, T. Bioinformatics 14, 290–294 ( 1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Sonnhammer, E.L. & Durbin, R. Gene 167, GC1–GC10 (1995).

  7. Altschul, S.F., Gish, W., Miller, W., Meyers, E.W. & Lipman, D.J. J. Mol. Biol. 215, 403– 410 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. PipMaker (http://bio.cse.psu.edu/pipmaker/).

  9. Göttgens, B. et al. Oncogene 15, 2419– 2428 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Holland, R.A. et al. Clin. Exp. Pharmacol. Physiol. 25, 740–744 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Reiser, P.J. & Kline, W.O. Am. J. Physiol. 274, H1048–1053 (1998).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Hardison, R. et al. Genome Res. 7, 959– 966 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Penn State University, University Park, 16802, PA

    Webb Miller

Authors
  1. Webb Miller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Miller, W. So many genomes, so little time. Nat Biotechnol 18, 148–149 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/72588

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/72588

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing