comparative genomics

Comparative genomic analysis of closely related organisms yields considerably more information on the structure and regulation of genes than that garnered by gene prediction programs. In the October Public Library of Science Biology, Lincoln Stein at Cold Spring Harbor (CSH) and 35 collaborators from 13 other research centers report the sequencing of the Caenorhabditis briggsae genome. The data, when used in comparison with the C. elegans genome, yield not only a great deal of structural and functional detail, but also unexpected information on the mechanisms and effects of genome evolution (Public Library of Science Biology, October 2003).

Jane Rogers, head of sequencing at the Sanger Institute—one of the collaborating centers—explained the choice of sequencing method for the genome. Whole genome shotgun reads combined with a high-resolution physical map were integrated with the previously finished clone-based sequence. “We had only had experience of using a whole genome shotgun approach for relatively ...