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