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NSF PR 98-66 - October 7, 1998
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Major Plant Genome Research Project Grants Renewed
First complete genome sequence
of a plant to result
Scientists will soon have access to the first complete
genome sequence of a flowering plant. The National
Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy
(DOE), and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), have
funded two groups of researchers through renewal grants
to continue systematic large-scale genome sequencing
of the plant named Arabidopsis thaliana. The
ultimate goal is to sequence the entire Arabidopsis
genome and to determine the structure and function
of every gene in this model plant. The combined three-year
awards total $28.3 million.
Arabidopsis thaliana is a small plant in the
mustard family, and has the smallest genome and the
highest gene density so far identified in a flowering
plant. What scientists learn from the study of Arabidopsis
will be immediately applicable to economically important
plant species, according to Mary Clutter, NSF assistant
director for biological sciences, and will lead to
the creation of new and improved plants and plant-based
products.
"Because plants are vital to our existence, increased
understanding of the biology of plants will impact
every facet of our lives, from agriculture, to energy,
to the environment, to health," says Clutter.
In 1990, the Multinational Coordinated Arabidopsis
thaliana Genome Research Project was launched
by an international group of scientists who recognized
the need to examine in detail one simple plant with
basic features common to all plants. "During the past
several years, Arabidopsis has become established
worldwide as the species of choice for molecular genetic
studies of plant biology," says Clutter.
Martha Krebs, director of DOE's office of energy research,
notes that Arabidopsis genome efforts have
provided numerous scientific insights, as well as
potential commercial products of interest to the energy
community, including the high volume production of
plastics. "Completion of the Arabidopsis genome
sequencing project will help advance long-range research
efforts toward engineering green plants for energy
capture, production of energy-rich fuels and materials,
and facilitating environmental remediation," Krebs
predicts.
Adds Department of Agriculture deputy under secretary
Eileen Kennedy, "Completing the sequencing for the
model plant Arabidopsis is the key to unlocking
what comes after. It will help scientists understand
the basis for resistance to disease and pests in agriculturally
important crops."
The two groups of researchers selected for the current
research grants are: The Institute for Genomic Research
in Rockville, Maryland; and a consortium of Stanford
University, the University of Pennsylvania and the
University of California at Berkeley. The two groups
are part of the international consortium called AGI
(Arabidopsis Genome Initiative) including an
additional U.S. group at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
on Long Island, New York, two groups in Europe and
a group in Japan. The AGI's goal is to complete the
sequence by the end of the year 2000. "Activities
will be coordinated to maximize efficiency and usefulness,"
says Clutter, "and information from the project will
be widely disseminated so that researchers will gain
maximum benefits."
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