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The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today awarded more than $20 million in grants to develop innovative sequencing technologies inexpensive and efficient enough to sequence a person抯 DNA as a routine part of biomedical research and health care.
"The ability to sequence any individual抯 genome inexpensively and accurately is the quantum leap needed to usher in an age of personalized medicine, in which healthcare providers will routinely use an individual抯 genetic code to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases"said Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D., acting director of the National Human Genome Research Institute.
DNA sequencing costs have fallen dramatically over the past decade, fueled in large part by tools, technologies and process improvements developed as part of the successful effort to sequence the human genome. NHGRI subsequently launched programs in 2004 to accelerate the development of sequencing technologies and the rate of reduction of genome sequencing cost. Significant progress has been made towards the goal of producing high quality genome sequence of 3 billion base pairs — the amount of DNA found in humans and other mammals ? for $100,000. Ultimately, NHGRI抯 vision is to cut the cost of whole-genome sequencing of an individual抯 genome to $1,000 or less, which will enable sequencing as part of routine medical care.
"A new generation of sequencing technologies is stepping in front of the already impressive technologies that enabled initial sequencing of the human genome," said Jeffery Schloss, Ph.D., NHGRI's program director for technology development. "We continue to seek further innovation to enable routine sequencing of genomes to advance scientific knowledge and healthcare."
The new grants will fund eight investigator teams to develop revolutionary technologies that would make it possible to sequence a genome for $1,000, as well as three investigators developing nearer-term technologies to sequence a genome for $100,000. The collective approaches incorporate many complementary elements that integrate biochemistry, chemistry and physics with engineering to enhance the whole effort to develop the next generation of DNA sequencing and analysis technologies.
"$1,000 Genome" Grants
NHGRI抯 Revolutionary Genome Sequencing Technologies grants have as their goal the development of breakthrough technologies that will enable a human-sized genome to be sequenced for $1,000 or less. Grant recipients and their approximate total funding are:
Daniel Branton, Ph.D., Jene A. Golovchenko, Ph.D., Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
$6.5 million (4 years)
Electronic Sequencing in Nanopores
Several groups are developing nanopores (holes about two nanometers in diameter) that may be able to recognize individual DNA bases by their electrical or ionic signals to achieve high-accuracy sequencing of individual DNA molecules. The goal of this group is to design and optimize nanopore technology using novel electronic control and sensing methods to eventually lead to a nanopore detector chip capable of sequencing a mammalian genome within a day on a single instrument.
Stephen Y. Chou, Ph.D., Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
$920,000 (3 years)
Nanogap Detector (Arrays) Inside Nanofluidic Channels for Fast Real-Time DNA Sequencing
A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, much too small to be seen with a conventional lab microscope. This group will explore using a nanochannel that includes a nanogap detector sensitive enough to identify DNA base pairs by their electrical signals as a single DNA molecule is moved through the device, eliminating the costly step of amplifying or labeling the DNA. The focus of the initial work is to develop techniques for fabricating nanogap detectors with improved sensitivity and functionality.
Marija Drndic, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
$820,000 (3 years)
DNA Sequencing Using Nanopore-Nanoelectrode Devices for Sensing and Manipulation
This team of researchers will address several current obstacles to achieving nanopore-based DNA sequencing by using nanoelectrodes to sense and manipulate molecules passing through the nanopore, and by integrating microfluidics to actively transport DNA molecules to the nanopore. Developments will be made available to other groups working to create nanopore-based DNA sequencers.
Di Gao, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
$370,000 (2 years)
DNA Sequencing-At-A-Stretch
This team will lay the groundwork to prove basic principles for a technology where DNA strands are pulled away from a solid surface when stretched by an electric field. When the stretching force exceeds a certain value, which is proportional to DNA length, the DNA strand would be released from the surface and detected by fluorescence. The order in which strands are released allows the instrument to identify the sequence of base pairs.
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-01-30 05:14
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