20/27 December 2001

Chromosome 20: Honing the genome

The 'year of the human genome' draws to a close with the publication of the finished sequence of chromosome 20. The sequence comprises almost 60 million base pairs and 99.4% of the euchromatic (genetically active) material. A new approach has been used to compare this single chromosome to sequence data from two other vertebrates — the puffer fish and the mouse — and on this count over 95% of all coding exons and almost all the genes have now been analysed.

The DNA sequence and comparative analysis of human chromosome 20
THE WELLCOME TRUST SANGER INSTITUTE
Nature 414, 865–871 (20/27 December 2001)
| Summary | Full Text | PDF (1 M) | Supplementary Information |

The human genome: Part three in the book of genes
MASAHIRA HATTORI & TODD D. TAYLOR
Working out the draft sequence of the human genome was a landmark achievement. But there's lots more to be done before the finished product is available. The complete sequence of chromosome 20 sets us on the way.
Nature 414, 854–855 (20/27 December 2001)
| Full Text | PDF (146 K) |