SeqWright is Awarded a Project to Sequence 400,000 BAC Clone End Reads from the Tomato Genome
Houston, TX—October 4, 2004—SeqWright, Inc., a contract research organization specializing in genomics-based services, announced today a collaborative agreement with Dr. Steve Tanksley and Dr. Lukas Mueller of Cornell University and Dr. Jim Giovannoni and Dr. Joyce van Eck of the Boyce Thompson Institute and Dr. Stephen Stack of Colorado State University to sequence 400,000 bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC) end reads assembled from the tomato (Solanum lycopersicon) genome. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a Plant Genome Research Grant to Dr. Tanksley and his team on their pursuit to sequence a portion of the gene-rich regions of the 12 tomato chromosomes as a part of the international effort organized under the Solanaceae Genomics Project (SOL) hosted by Cornell (http://www.sgn.cornell.edu/solanaceae-project/). For the first phase of this project, SeqWright will collect 400,000 sequence reads from BACs provided by the SOL consortium. The data will be use to generate a connector database as well as screen for candidate BACs for future full length sequencing.
"BAC end sequencing is one of the foundation efforts that will support all participants in the international effort to develop a reference genome sequence for the plant family Solanaceae. The development of the tomato genome sequence will be the first step toward comparative biology of this family of plants which includes many additional important vegetable crops such as potato, pepper, and eggplant" said Dr. Giovannoni.
Fei Lu, M.D., CEO of SeqWright, Inc., commented that, “The understanding of the tomato genome is essential to the continued use and cultivation of this agriculturally significant family, and we are excited to be a part of this effort. The sequencing of this genome will help further current efforts to better understand defense response, fruit development and genome evolution of the tomato. SeqWright is pleased to continue its growth through participation in such globally significant projects.”
About Cornell & Solanaceae Genomics Project
The Solanaceae Genome Network is part of the International Solanaceae Initiative (SOL), which has the long-term goal of creating a network of map based resources and information to address key questions in plant adaptation and diversification.
Website: www.sgn.cornell.edu/index.html
About Boyce Thompson Institute
For more than 75 years, scientists at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research have worked to reveal the natural processes that underlie plant life. BTI investigates how plants grow and develop, how they ward-off insects and disease, how they produce nutrients in food and how they interact with the environment.
Website: bti.cornell.edu
About SeqWright
SeqWright Incorporated is a contract research organization with over ten years of experience specializing in DNA discovery products and customized services designed for scientific researchers from the pharmaceutical, agricultural, biotechnology, government and academic communities. SeqWright is a GLP compliant facility as outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations by the FDA.