A new, coordinated mutagenesis program and an ongoing genome sequencing effort will also receive priority funding from the MRC's "post-genome challenge" investment in mouse genetics. The expansive mutation screening project will pre-empt a similar effort by the US National Institutes of Health, which has also now made mouse genetics a high priority. The moves reflect general scientific thinking that mouse studies will be in the vanguard of approaches for functionally interpreting the human genome sequence.

The level of funding for both projects is yet to be determined, but the Sanger Centre in Cambridge is likely to get the largest share to enhance its mouse genome sequencing program. Most of the funds available for the mutation screening program will be directed to the MRC's Mammalian Genetics Unit in Harwell, Oxfordshire. According to Nick Hastie, Director the MRC Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh, the MRC is inviting applications from members of the research community who wish to add further mutation screening rationales. "40,000 mice are to be screened for a wide range of disorders so any new test that can be added will make it a more efficient screen," he commented, adding that the MRC's own tests will be in the areas of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders.

The project has already garnered commercial interest from SmithKline Beecham (SB), which is contributing over £1 million to a pilot neurological/behavioral screen in return for first rights on any interesting mutations. Although Hastie says that screens for academic researchers will be largely separate to those for companies such as SB, he concedes that "whether there will be some overlap between the two is not clear." Such overlap may create tension if competing claims for the same mutant mice compromise either academic access or company exclusivity deals. This is an issue that the MRC will be eager to clarify, given speculation that it is considering a commercial spin-off for mouse genetics.

Nick Hastie

Commenting separately on the MRC's commitment to also support bioinformatics training, Hastie notes that this area has been identified as a potential bottleneck for post-genomic future research, as there are not enough people trained in this area coming through the academic system (Nature Med. 4, 1214; 1998). As evidence of this he indicates that the Ph.D. studentships offered by the MRC in bioinformatics have been difficult to fill. One of the main problems he cites is competition from industry that can pay higher salaries.