The $3 billion project was founded in 1990 by the [U.S. Department of Energy]? and the [U.S. National Institutes of Health]?, and was expected to take 15 years. Due to widespread international cooperation and advances in the field of genomics? (especially in [sequence analysis]?), as well as huge advances in computing technology, a rough draft of the genome was finished in 2000 (announced by US president Bill Clinton on June 26, 2000)), two years earlier than planned. The full, high-quality genome is still being sequenced and is expected to be released in 2003.
Another reason for the accelerated work was the commercially financed HGP at [Celera Genomics]?, which used a new method called shotgun sequencing, and also that Celera Genomics planned to patent all genes found, unlike the gene sequences found by the original government-funded HGP, which are available without cost.
Although the working draft was announced in June 2000, it was not until February 2001 that Celara and the HGP scientists published actual details of the draft. Special issues of Nature and Science contained the working draft as well as analysis which is hoped to provide a 'scaffold' of about 90% of the genome upon which gaps can be closed.
Each draft sequence has been checked at least four to five times to increase 'depth of coverage' or accuracy. Approximately 47% of the draft were high-quality sequences - the final version will have been checked eight to nine times giving an error rate of just 1 in 10,000 bases.
Goals
The goals of the original HGP were not only to determine all 3 billion base pairs in the human genome with a minimal error rate, but to also identify all the genes in this vast amount of data. This part of the project is still ongoing although a preliminary count indicates about 30,000 genes in the human genome, which is far less than predicted by most scientists.
Another goal of the HGP was to develop faster, more efficient methods for DNA sequencing and [sequence analysis]? and the transfer of these technologies to the industry.
Today, the sequence of the human DNA is stored in databases and is available for everyone on the Internet. Computer programs are developed to analyse that data, for the data itself is next to useless without interpretation.
Benefits
The work on automated interpretation on genome data has just begun. The knowledge gained by the understanding of the genome is hoped to boost the fields of medicine and biotechnology, eventually leading to cures for cancer, Alzheimers disease and other diseases.
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