To manage large collections of proteins it is practical to store clones containing each corresponding Open Reading Frame (ORF) . From ORF clones, proteins can be synthesised in any cell type or expressed as translational fusions with any peptide moieties. Full ORF complements representing all proteins expressed in an organism (ORFeomes) are useful for many functional proteomics programmes. Their construction is now possible based on novel cloning techniques. Our objectives are
(1) to create a European network of labs directly involved in the cloning of ORFs from human and model metazoan species,
(2) to organise collaborative projects for the construction of comprehensive ORFeomes to improve the cost-effectiveness of European research funding and
(3) to disseminate materials and expertise for the exploitation of ORF collections.