Genomics in C. elegans: so many genes, such a little worm.
Hillier LW, Coulson A, Murray JI, Bao Z, Sulston JE, Waterston RH.
Genome Sequencing Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63108, USA.
The Caenorhabditis elegans genome sequence is now complete, fully contiguous telomere to telomere and totaling 100,291,840 bp. The sequence has catalyzed the collection of systematic data sets and analyses, including a curated set of 19,735 protein-coding genes--with >90% directly supported by experimental evidence--and >1300 noncoding RNA genes. High-throughput efforts are under way to complete the gene sets, along with studies to characterize gene expression, function, and regulation on a genome-wide scale. The success of the worm project has had a profound effect on genome sequencing and on genomics more broadly. We now have a solid platform on which to build toward the lofty goal of a true molecular understanding of worm biology with all its implications including those for human health.
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PMID: 16339362 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]