Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole, MA) to map Giaridia lamblia genome.

August 5, 1998

LINCOLN, NE AND WOODS HOLE, MA: A Five-year project to map and sequence 99% of the Giardia lamblia genome is currently underway at The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) at Woods Hole, MA. "Our selection of G. lamblia is based on its well recognized impact on human health and the information it promises to provide us about conservation of gene sequences in divergent eukaryotes," says project leader Mitchell Sogin.

The project will yield insight into the evolution of key pathways and organelles, variable surface proteins used by parasites to avoid host defense mechanisms, and genetic elements that were necessary for the transition from prokaryotic to eukaryotic genome organization.

The study is supported in part by LI-COR of Lincoln, NE which is providing its third generation IR² DNA sequencers to the project, which MBL has been using extensively for two years.

"The IR² DNA sequencers produce accurate DNA sequences which average 30-40% longer reads than competing instruments," says Sogin. "This dramatically reduces the number of reactions required to assemble a shotgun genome sequence and facilitates the successful analysis of DNA sequences corresponding to repeated genetic elements."

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

http://www.mbl.edu/Giardia
Mitchell L. Sogin
Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative
Molecular Biology and Evolution
The Marine Biological Laboratory
7 MBL Street
Woods Hole MA 02543 508-289-7246 (Phone)
508-457-4727 (Fax)
sogin@mbl.edu (e-mail)

Copyright 1998, LI-COR, inc. All rights reserved.