DNA and Gene Sequencing
Introduction
DNA and Gene Sequencing began in the mid-1970s. At this time, scientists could only sequence a few pairs of genes per year. They could not sequence enough to make up a single gene, much less the whole human genome. (DNA Sequencing) Beginning in the 1990s only a few labs had been able to sequence a mere 100,00 gene bases and the costs for sequencing were extremely high. Since then improvemetns in technology have incresed the speed and decresed the cost of gene sequencing to the point where some labs have sequenced well over 100 million DNA bases per year. (DNA Sequencing)
The Human Genome Project , or HGP, was created to help develop new and better tools for making gene hunts faster, cheaper, and practical for almost any scientist. The tools created by this project included genetic maps, physical maps, and DNA sequence maps. The greatest achievement of the HGP was their success in sequencing the entire length of human DNA, referred to as the human genome. With the sequencing of the human genome complete, HGP was able to go on to sequence the genes of several key organisms, like mice, mosquitos, and plants like mustard weed and rice.(Figure 1) The simplicity of the genetic structure of these organisms makes them perfect for future technology development. (DNA Sequencing)
Providing a reference sequence for the human genome and of the human genome is an astonishing achievement in the field of Gene Sequecing, further advancements in sequencing technology will have to be made so large amounts of DNA can be worked on and compared with other genomes quickly and inexpensively. Scientists need to know the sequences of multiple different gene bases because it tells them what sort of genetic informati...
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...Jauregui, Lupski and Gibbs)
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Many things have impacted both the Science and Medical fields of study. Electrophoresis and DNA Sequencing are two of these things. Together they have simultaneously impacted both of these fields. On one hand, there is Electrophoresis. Electrophoresis is a specific method of separating molecules by their size through the application of an electric field. It causes molecules to migrate at a rate and distance dependent on their size. On the other hand, there is DNA Sequencing. DNA Sequencing is a technique used to determine the exact sequence of bases
The ENCODE Project Consortium. "An integrated encyclopedia of DNA elements in the human genome." Nature 489.11247 (2012): 57-74.
The debate over the importance of a Human Genome Project can be cleared up by looking at what the human genome actually is, and why knowing its DNA sequence can be beneficial to the scientific and the human community. The human genome is made up of about three billion base pairs, which contain about 100,000 genes. The 100,000 genes in the 46 human chromosomes only account for a small total of the DNA in our genome. Approximately 10 percent of our DNA make up these genes in our genome, these genes are what is actually encoded for and used by our body to make vital proteins needed for everyday life. The remaining 90 percent of our three billion base pairs are repeated sequences between genes that do not encode for any particular product. These repeated sequences account for the reason why 99 percent of any humans DNA is identical to another human's (1). With this knowledge many people believe it is not worth the time or money to sequence the entire human genome when only a small percent is used to encode for proteins. However, by sequencing the whole genome researchers will no longer have to do a needle in the haystack type of search for small genes, like the one found on chromosome four that is responsible for Huntington's disease (4). Also, knowing the complete human DNA sequence will allow scientists to determine the role and importance of the repeated DNA, non-protein encoding, sequences in our body.
Gene mapping is currently being used to identify genes that can put people at risk for illness and to help the development of new medicines. Scientists hope to use gene mapping to lead to advancement in medicines, the treatment to disease, and its aid in disease prevention. Genetic mapping was the initial step in the Human Genome Project (human genome project). The Human Genome Project identified thousands of DNA sequences and located important standards they called landmarks. Scientist use these landmarks to tell them where each fragment of DNA came from. These maps would be used to locate sick genes, diseases, or abnormal genes (genome.gov).
Illumina sequencing is an example of next-generation sequencing method. It uses fluorescence-based sequence-monitoring technology and contributes to about 90% of current sequencing data2. In Illumina platform, vast numbers of short reads are sequenced in a single stroke. To do this, the input sample must be cleaved into short sections firstly and the length of these sections will depend on the particular Illumina sequencing machine used. In Illumina sequencing, 100-150bp reads are used, somewhat longer fragments are ligated to generic adaptors and annealed to a slide using the adaptors. PCR is then carried out to amplify each read, creating a spot with many copies of the same read. They are then separated into single strands for sequencing3.
Genomic sequencing is the process of determining the precise order of nucleotides within a DNA molecule. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four DNA bases – thiamine, adenine, guanine, and cytosine– in the strand of DNA (NHGRI, 2011). In each organism, these bases are arranged in a unique and specific sequence, and it is this sequence that is the genetic code of the organism. Genomic sequencing has had an impact on nearly every field of biological research including human genetics and genomics, plants and agriculture, microbes, medicine, viruses and infectious diseases, environmental genetics and evolutionary biology. By first examining the development of gene sequencing technology we will be able to view its role in evolutionary biology, its contribution to phylogenetics, and how it has changed our understanding of the biological tree of life.
The purpose of the human genome project was to select the best pairs of the genes and the desirable characteristics in the human beings to maintain the production of the organisms according to the desirable gene sequencing. This project was initiated to control the sequencing of the gene artificially [1]. The world’s largest biological plan was the human genome project as it was started on the large scale. The idea of this project was given by the researchers in 1984. The practical work started in 1990 to execute the project. The official declaration of the project carried out in 2003. The financial assistance was awarded to the program setup through the healthcare workplaces, where their engagement was significant. Another program
About fifteen years ago at a conference near Salt Lake City, the Department of Energy brought up a question that would change the face of science, more specifically molecular genetics. They questioned why there was no DNA research on the way mutations are detected and they decided to change that. Thus, the Human Genome Project was born. Actually there was a lot more planning to do before the work began, ranging from the technical aspects to developing a separate commission dealing with the ethical issues. Eight years after officially starting the project, the public is in awe of what has been accomplished. The projected goal is to have an accurate, complete sequence of human DNA by the year 2003, two years sooner than previously expected (Collins, 1998). The reason for the project is on schedule is that innovative techniques are being applied in DNA sequencing that are more cost effective as well as more efficient.
The use of genetic sequencing in the medical field has innumerable possibilities; genomic medicine, as this new field is now called, will enable the human race to make immense advances in understanding how our genetic heredity makes us susceptible to some illnesses and immune to others. The detection of diseases with a high rate of heredity is just one facet of the gem that is genomics; once researchers are able to map out all of the vital components and rare alleles that sometimes play a large factor in disease, it will be possible to target these specific gene combinations, functional elements, and alleles. Because of the fact that protein, produced by our cells’ ribosomes, has an effect on the pathways that help express our inherited traits, it is important that we understand the relationship between DNA and protein, and how this affects the phenotype of an individual’s genetic attributes. For example, sickle-cell anemia is caused by a flaw in one nitrogenous base sequence in DNA. This flaw then translates into RNA, then into amino acids that determine the phenotype that the subject will have. The discrepancy in something as minute as a nitrogenous base and one amino acid makes the difference between a healthy, normal life and a life ...
The Genome Project has been an ongoing project sense 1990 and was finally completed on April 14th , 2003. The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health were the ones directing the Genome Project. The progress of the Genome Project is still unknown because the project was completely finished, but scientists are still going to be researching the Genome Project for many years. The project is like a master blue print of the body. The scientists estimated to find about 100,000 genes in the human body but only found as few as 30,000. There are 4 chemical components that make up DNA, cytocine (C), thymine (T), guanine (G), and adenine (A), these 4 components make up who you are. There are a few goals that scientists were trying to reach, such as finding the structure and function of a genome.
The discovery of genome sequencing by Fredrick Sanger and his team of researchers in the early 70’s gave rise to one of the most empirical research methods that was ever to exist. This revolutionary research technique has allowed scientists to finally encode organisms down to their most basic properties; helping massively in our understanding of pathways, reactions and functions of organisms. The technique involves analysing the DNA of an organism’s genome and therefore all the genes that compose it. The DNA from an organism is run through an electrophoresis gel and the sequence produced is taken up and interpreted by a computer program to then present the nucleotide sequence of the organism. Genome sequencing of pathogenic organisms has lead to huge advancements in the fight against infectious diseases within human and veterinary medicine; three notably virulent infectious diseases of the veterinary world are bluetongue virus, equine strangles and bovine tuberculosis (Goodhead, 2012).
Ridley, M. (1999). Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters. New York: HarperCollins.
The scientific and medical progress of DNA as been emense, from involving the identification of our genes that trigger major diseases or the creation and manufacture of drugs to treat these diseases. DNA has many significant uses to society, health and culture of today. One important area of DNA research is that used for genetic and medical research. Our abi...
heated in the recent years. Following the mapping of the human genome, scientists are pursuing
U.S. DOE Human Genome Project. (2009) Cloning Fact Sheet. [On-line] Available from: http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/home.shtml, [accessed 5th May 2011].