Towards the first complete analysis of a plant genome
The first results from a major European research project in the field of plant biotechnology have just been published in the leading science journal "Nature" (29 January 1998, Vol. 391, No 6666). This EU-funded project is in the process of unravelling, for the first time, the complete genome sequence of a model plant - "Arabidopsis thaliana". The report published in "Nature" relates to the analysis of a 1.9 Mbp region of chromosome 4 of "Arabidopsis" - the first major milestone of the project. The EU Arabidopsis Genome Project, financed under the Community's specific RTD programme in the field of Biotechnology (BIOTECH), is the most advanced plant genome project in the world - involving some 30 laboratories from 10 countries. Work on the sequencing of "Arabidopsis thaliana" first began in 1994, under the coordination of the John Innes Centre (UK). In 1996, the scope of the project was broadened with the inclusion of three US groups - funded by the US National Science Foundation - and a Japanese laboratory. This international group aims to complete the genome sequence by the end of 2000. The accumulated sequence will form a unique resource for plant biotechnology.
Countries
France