The Human Genome Project
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Launched in 1990, the Human Genome Project (HGP) produced a finished sequence of human DNA in April 2003 — under budget and more than two years ahead of schedule. The achievement was lauded as a scientific milestone and a turning point for biomedical research. By sequencing the three billion DNA letters in the human genome, scientists opened doors to a vast biological terrain whose functions dictate the course of health and disease.
The International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, a coalition of hundreds of scientists from 20 sequencing centers located throughout the world, coordinated the HGP. Most of the sequence was generated by five institutions: the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research (now Broad Institute), Baylor College of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, the Department of Energy's (DOE) Joint Genome Institute, and The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the DOE led the consortium in the United States.
In addition to the human genome sequence, the HGP also produced draft sequences of the mouse and rat genomes. These efforts advanced the new field of comparative genomics, whereby scientists learn about human disease by analyzing the genomes of other species. The HGP also identified more than one million human genetic variations, known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Scientists working through the HGP were instrumental in the creation of the SNP Consortium, an international effort to identify and study SNPs, funded by the Wellcome Trust and 11 pharmaceutical and technological companies.
The completion of these tasks marked the end of the HGP. All data generated by the project are now freely available in public databases. Today, scientists are moving into the next phase in genomic sciences, whereby the knowledge extracted from the genome is used to advance biological research and improve medical care.