70 Years of genomics, sequencing and ddNTP
Dec 2nd, 2019, by Labtoo's team
Chromosome 22. The smallest human chromosome. Its sequencing was completed in 1999, this achievement represents the first step in the complete sequencing of the human genome.
A beautiful project
The Human Genome Project was first discussed in 1984 but it is only in 1997 that a program was created with the purpose of carrying out the complete sequencing of the human genome.
The International Consortium, which is composed of 20 sequencing centers in 6 different countries, announced the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, more than 2 years before the original deadline.
About twenty years later, Frédérick Sanger developed a technique enabling the sequencing of nucleic acids. This is how, in 1977, he sequenced the first genome: the one of bacteriophage phiX174 long of 5 386 base pairs. His method was later perfected during one of the Human Genome Project programs.
3.2 billion base pairs later
The sequencing of the human genome will have allowed the determination of the number of coding genes, to discover of the importance of non-coding sequences, and to be aware of the significance of non-coding RNAs, such as microRNAs known to regulate numerous physiological functions.
Since the sequencing of the human genome, different species (bacterial, vegetal, animal, ...) have been sequenced, opening doors for new hope in improving knowledge of diseases.