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1000 Genomes Project passes 1000 genome sequences mark
Sources: GenomeWeb News, 1000 Genomes Project
The 1000 Genomes Project (see previous news) has announced completion of low-coverage whole genome sequencing of over 1,000 DNA samples at the Biology of Genomes meeting in Cold Spring Harbor last week.
The project aims to create a resource on human genetic variation for use by other researchers, cataloguing common variants in populations from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. The first phase (1167 samples) should be completed later this year, and ultimately the aim is to sequence 2,500 samples from healthy individuals. Whole exome sequencing for 997 samples and SNP genotyping for more than 1,500 have been completed thus far.
It is hoped that the data will refine the ‘reference’ human genome sequence and be of value to many other research efforts, partly by allowing comparisons to see whether newly identified genetic variants are common in different populations or not, and therefore how likely they are to be associated with disease.