Studying a social insect such as the honeybee requires a social approach. George Weinstock from the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, drew on the skills of 174 collaborators to analyse the bee's molecular features and gene content. The group found tantalizing hints about how bees manage their societies — such as genes for nursing and gathering pollen — but no clear-cut drivers of social organization (see page 931). Weinstock told Nature about his genetic hunt for animal behaviour.

What was the biggest surprise about the bee's genome?

That we did not come up with breakthroughs in understanding social behaviour of the bee. Many small changes account for this and it is possible that this reflects our limited knowledge of behavioural genetics.

You have sequenced the genomes of humans, wasps, sea urchins, slime mould and bacteria. Which was the most fun?

They all have their own beauty and fascination. The human genome was our grail and accomplishing that still sends chills down my spine. Bacterial pathogens are amazing because once you have the sequence, you can apply the awesome power of bacterial genetics to dig deeper into a bacterium than any other organism.

How will your sequences contribute to personalized medicine in the future?

They will have a big pay-off. First we were part of decoding the human genome reference sequence. Next was the HapMap project sampling human diversity. Now we are scaling up for human mutation and disease-gene discovery. These activities will form the bedrock for personalized medicine.

What are you doing with the human genome?

We are shifting the emphasis from deciphering whole genome sequences of animals to human mutation and disease-gene discovery. We will tackle as many diseases as possible in the next few years, from cancer to psychiatric disorders.

What is the future of genome sequencing?

First, there is a need for more DNA sequencing than ever before. Having the human genome sequence was not the end — it provided the reference against which other human genomes can be compared for analysing disease. Given the large number of diseases that are being studied, the amount of sequencing is huge. Second, new sequencing technologies are just coming to market, offering greater capacity at lower cost, and this should have a dramatic effect.