Transcript Human Genome Project

Human Genome Project
History
 Begun formally in 1990
 planned to last 15 years (1990-2005)
 18 countries participate with significant
contributions from USA, UK, Germany,
France, Japan and China
Goal
 Identify all the 100,000 genes in human
DNA
 Determine the sequences of the 3 billion
chemical bases that make up the human
DNA
 Store this information in databases
 Develop faster, more efficient sequencing
technologies
 Develop tools for data analysis
 Address the ethical, legal and social issues
that may arise from the project
Recent Progress
Dec 1999 - Human Chromosome 22 Completed
(First human chromosome to be
sequenced)
Mar 2000 - Drosophila Genome Completed
Apr 2000 - Completion of Draft Sequence of
human Chromosome 5, 16 and 19
Recent Progress (Cont.)
May 2000 - Human Chromosome 21 completed
June 2000 - Bill Clinton announced the
completion of a “working draft”
DNA sequence (90%) of the human
genome
By 2003
- Completion of the HGP
Benefits of the HGP
Alert patients that are at risk for certain
diseases
Reliably predict the course of disease
Precisely diagnose disease and ensure the
most effective treatment
Developing new treatments at the molecular
level
FAQs
How many genes have been identified ?
90% by summer 2000
Whose genome is being sequenced in the
HGP ?
Blood (female) or sperm (male) samples
from a large number of donors
What genomes have been sequenced
completely ?
Several viruses and bacteria
Yeast, roundworm and fruit fly
First plant genome to be completed in 2000
How closely related are mice and humans?
What % of genes are the same ?
Roughly same no. of genes
Average of 85% similarity but a lot of
variation from gene to gene
What are some of the ethical,
legal, and social challenges
presented by genetic
information ?

Who owns and controls genetic
information?

How reliable and useful is fetal genetic
testing?

Should testing be performed when no
treatment is available ?

Do people’s genes make them behave in a
particular way ?
Related Web Sites
http://www.ornl.gov/TechResources/Human
_Genome/home.html