COLLECTION SPONSORS
We are grateful for the support of our Corporate sponsor: Applied Biosystems, and our Academic sponsors: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Human Genome Research Institute and The Wellcome Trust. As always, Nature carries sole responsibility for all editorial content.
Top of pageCorporate sponsor: Applied Biosystems
Applied Biosystems is pleased to sponsor Nature's Genome Collection, a unique repository of the wealth of genomic information that has been compiled since the completion of the Human Genome Project five years ago. The Genome Collection will serve as an invaluable resource for scientists as they continue to unravel the mysteries of genetics.
As a leading supplier of integrated solutions for genomics research, we at Applied Biosystems are aware of the tremendous importance of the Genome Collection and of the efforts that went into establishing it. When we introduced the first fluorescent dye-labeled method for the automated sequencing of nucleic acids twenty-five years ago, it was impossible to foresee the tremendous advances that were to come. In the intervening quarter century, we have continually defined and refined the technology that we pioneered, and which formed the basis of the monumental project that succeeded in sequencing the human genome. It is estimated that Applied Biosystems novel Shotgun sequencing reduced the Human Genome Project by an estimated ten years. To date, more than 200 genomes have been sequenced with Applied Biosystems products, and 700 more are in progress.
For more information, see www.appliedbiosystems.com.
Top of pageAcademic sponsor: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Though surprising, the Human Genome Project (HGP) traces its roots to a 1986 initiative in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In 1947, the U.S. Congress charged DOE and its predecessor agencies with determining potential health and environmental risks posed by the production and use of energy resources and technologies. In 1990, DOE and the U.S. National Institutes of Health formally established the joint HGP.
DOE made fundamental contributions from the start: DNA libraries; the first DNA sequence repository (now GenBank); analysis algorithms and tools for integrating databases; capillary-based DNA sequencers and fluorescent sequencing dyes; bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) technologies and markers for assembling sequences; and studies of related ethical, legal, and social issues. The DOE Joint Genome Institute completed human chromosomes 5, 16, and 19 and now is generating the equivalent of a human genome sequence each month as it studies microbes with capabilities relevant to DOE missions.
DOE is using knowledge gained in HGP to study whole biological systems through its Genomics:GTL program, whose objective is to gain a predictive understanding of life processes. Applications are expected in new energy sources, in environmental remediation, and in understanding microbial contributions to global carbon cycling relevant to climate change.
For more information please go to doegenomes.org.
Top of pageAcademic sponsor: National Human Genome Research Institute
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) led the National Institute of Health's contribution to the international Human Genome Project, which had as its primary goal the sequencing of the human genome. The project was successfully completed in April 2003, more than two years ahead of schedule. All of its data are freely available to all researchers, serving to accelerate the pace of biomedical discovery around the globe.
The completion of the Human Genome Project marked the dawn of a bold new era -- the era of the genome in biology and medicine. Consequently, the NHGRI's mission has grown to encompass a broad range of studies exploring the structure and function of the human genome, with the ultimate goal of enhancing our understanding of human biology and improving human health. To that end, the NHGRI supports the development of resources and technologies that will accelerate genome research and its applications to diagnosis, treatment and prevention of human disease.
This collection of landmark papers pulls together, for the first time, many key milestones in the historic effort to sequence and analyze the human genome. Yet, the quest to fully understand the human genome is far from over, and NHGRI looks forward to supporting future chapters in this story of scientific discovery.
For more information on the NHGRI, please visit www.genome.gov.
Top of pageAcademic sponsor: The Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust and the Human Genome Project
The Wellcome Trust is proud to have played its part in the sequencing of the human genome.
In the 1980s, enthusiasts for human genome sequencing were often considered wildly optimistic or hopelessly deluded. Fortunately for all of us, they were persistent and, astonishingly, within 20 years the task had been completed.
The Human Genome Project was based on vision - the belief that it could be done and, more importantly, should be done, and would provide a research tool of real and enduring value.
But the project also required funding, and a commitment to invest large sums in a venture that, initially at least, was considered high risk. We believed that this was a unique opportunity to make a difference, to provide an enormous boost to biomedical research.
As an independent medical research charity able to take a long-term view, we could see that the project would create a resource of lasting value for generations to come. With our support, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute [www.sanger.ac.uk] contributed a third of the total human sequence, which can be accessed through the Wellcome Trust-funded genome browser Ensembl [www.ensembl.org/index.html].
So we are delighted to be associated with this landmark publication, which celebrates one of humankind's greatest achievements. It is something every one of us should feel proud about, and we are proud to have played our part.
For more about the Wellcome Trust see www.wellcome.ac.uk.
