Human Genome Project History Begun formally in 1990

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/Tech. Resources/Human _Genome/home. html