90% of Genes Mapped - Celera Genomics'

[Guest guest]

Kathy,

Thanks so much for the article....it was in our paper this morning and I

found it very interesting too:

Celera Compiles DNA Sequence Covering 90% of the Human Genome

<<...>>

Business Editors/Health and Medical Writers

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--Jan. 10, 2000--Celera Genomics

(NYSE:CRA), a PE Corporation business, announced today that the

company has DNA sequence in the Celera database that covers 90 percent

of the human genome.

As a result of the extensive sequence coverage of the 23 pairs of

human chromosomes and based on statistical analysis, Celera believes

that greater than 97 percent of all human genes are now represented in

the Celera database.

Celera's DNA sequence is from more than 10 million high quality

sequences, generated at Celera in the world's largest DNA data

factory. The sequence, developed from randomly selected fragments of

all human chromosomes, contains over 5.3 billion base pairs (letters

of the human genetic code) at greater than 99 percent accuracy.

The 5.3 billion base pairs represent 2.58 billion base pairs of

unique sequence that have been calculated to cover 81 percent of an

estimated genome size of 3.18 billion base pairs. These data, combined

with all of the " finished " and " draft " human genome sequence data from

the public databases, give Celera coverage of 90 percent of the human

genome. Celera's sequencing was performed on 300 PE Biosystems ABI

Prism® 3700 DNA Analyzers.

" The whole genome shotgun technique focuses on sequencing the

entire genome at once, allowing for real-time discovery of human genes

across the entire genome, " said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., Celera's

president and chief scientific officer. " The early phase of sequencing

the human genome using the whole genome shotgun process is especially

important for gene discovery. We are rapidly coming to an end of that

phase. Our statistical analysis and comparison to known genes suggest

that greater than 97 percent of all human genes are represented in our

database. "

Whole Genome Sequencing

Celera began to sequence the human genome on Sept. 8, 1999, using

the whole genome shotgun technique that its scientists pioneered in

sequencing the first complete genome in 1995 at The Institute for

Genomic Research (TIGR). This technique involves randomly shearing the

human chromosomes into millions of pieces of 2,000 and 10,000 base

pairs in length. The chromosome fragments are inserted into a plasmid

vector and propagated in E. coli to produce millions of copies of each

fragment.

Celera scientists then sequence both ends of each fragment. The

millions of sequences representing billions of letters of genetic code

are then assembled into the proper order using proprietary genome

assembly algorithms and the Celera supercomputer facility, resulting

in the reconstruction of the linear sequence of the 23 pairs of human

chromosomes.

The human genome sequencing effort funded by governments and some

public charities around the world is based on sequencing large clones

of human DNA in bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC) using a

variation of the shotgun sequencing method. With that approach,

approximately 25,000 BAC clones have to be sequenced and their order

mapped to reassemble the 23 human chromosomes. There are on average

150,000 letters of human DNA in a BAC.

Its " draft " sequence represents most of these base pairs; however

the fragments of DNA sequence are largely unordered. By combining the

Celera whole genome data with the individual clone " draft " BAC data,

Celera plans to order the sequence within each BAC clone and then

place the clones in the proper order to construct the genome's

sequence. Celera expects to simultaneously and independently assemble

the genome with its whole genome assembly algorithms. The combination

of these two complementary genome sequencing and assembly approaches

greatly reduces the time for Celera to finish the sequence of the

human genome.

For the next several months Celera plans to continue its

full-scale effort on human genome sequencing, with the anticipated

addition of approximately two billion base pairs per month. The

additional sequences should provide redundant coverage of the

chromosome sequences, improve accuracy and aid in the final assembly

of the chromosome sequences.

When sequencing and scientific analysis of the human genome is

completed, the consensus sequence data will be submitted for

publication in a scientific journal. These published data will be made

freely available to researchers around the world under a

non-redistribution agreement.

Celera Discovers Key Regulatory Genes

Celera's gene discovery team has identified several thousand new

genes that potentially play key roles in cellular communication and

the regulation of physiological systems in the human body, including

blood pressure, cell growth, and neurotransmission. These are

primarily rarely expressed genes and are not represented in the public

database, GenBank. These are genes of significant interest to the

pharmaceutical industry, since they can be used as the basis of new

therapeutic development.

Celera has previously reported filing provisional patent

applications on newly discovered genes and continues to file these

applications on medically relevant gene discoveries. The company

intends to file full applications on those medically important

discoveries, and has implemented a non-exclusive licensing program to

make the intellectual property available to Celera database

subscribers.

Celera Milestones

Human Genome:

Celera is now on target to complete the sequencing phase of the

human genome by summer 2000, incorporating data from GenBank. After

sequencing, Celera then plans to begin shotgun sequencing of the mouse

genome.

Drosophila melanogaster Genome:

On Dec. 30, 1999 Celera completed the release of a partially

assembled Drosophila genome sequence to the public data bank. Celera

continues to do scientific analysis in conjunction with the Berkeley

Drosophila Genome Project (BDGP) and other collaborators, and intends

to submit a manuscript to a scientific journal for publication in

spring 2000. Celera and its collaborators have discovered a total of

14,000 genes in the genome, many in commercially important protein

families, which should prove valuable in developing new therapeutics

and insecticides.

NOTE: Celera's news briefing will be held on Monday, Jan. 10 at

11 a.m. EST. It can be accessed via listen-only webcast at:

http//webevents.broadcast.com/medialink/celera0100/

Celera's mission is to become the definitive source of genomic

and related agricultural and medical information. Celera's information

will be available on a subscription basis to academic and commercial

institutions who will have access to tools for viewing, browsing,

analyzing, and integrating data in a way that will assist scientists

in accelerating their understanding of the human genetic code.

PE Corporation currently comprises two operating groups. Celera

Genomics Group, headquartered in Rockville, intends to become the

definitive source of genomic and related medical information. PE

Biosystems Group, headquartered in City, Calif. and with sales

of $1.2 billion during fiscal 1999, develops and markets

instrument-based systems, reagents, software, and contract related

services to the life science industry and research community.

Information about the company, including consolidated financial

statements of PE Corporation, is available on the World Wide Web at

http://www.pecorporation.com or by phoning 800/762-6923.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking.

These may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases

such as " believe, " " expect, " " anticipate, " " should, " " planned, "

" estimated, " and " potential, " among others. These forward-looking

statements are based on PE Corporation's current expectations. The

Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a " safe

harbor " for such forward-looking statements. In order to comply with

the terms of the safe harbor, PE Corporation notes that a variety of

factors could cause actual results and experience to differ materially

from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in such

forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties that may

affect the operations, performance, development, and results of Celera

Genomics' businesses include but are not limited to (1) early stage of

operations and uncertainty of operating results; (2) no precedent for

Celera Genomics' business plan; (3) uncertainty of value of

polymorphism data; (4) initial reliance on pharmaceutical industry;

(5) high dependence on key employees; (6) uncertain protection of

intellectual property and proprietary rights; (7) highly competitive

business; (8) need to manage rapid growth; and (9) other factors that

might be described from time to time in PE Corporation's filings with

the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Original Message:

Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 16:47:06 -0800

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Subject: [chromosomedeletionoutreach] Re: 90% of Gene's Mapped!

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Thought you might find the attached article that was published today

interesting. It announces that a company has mapped 90% of human genes and

expects to have 100% mapped by this summer. The article is at:

http://quote.bloomberg.com/analytics/bquote.cgi?story_num=49a1feb5d885d09b50

47b41b0e8f51c6 & view=story & version=marketslong99.cfg

Kathy Rowe

Mother to the darling and much loved 16 month old Rowe with

Syndrome, bilateral vocal cord paralysis, tracheotomy, heart and lung

pulmonic stenosis, severe