Standards for a new genomic era

LANL among organizations proposing new genome sequence strategies. Los Alamos, New Mexico, OCTOBER 21, 2009—A team of geneticists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, together with a consortium of international researchers, has recently proposed a set of standards designed to elucidate the quality of publicly available genetic sequencing information. The new standards could eventually allow genetic researchers to develop vaccines more efficiently or help public health or security personnel more quickly respond to potential public-health emergencies. In a recent issue of , Los Alamos geneticist Patrick Chain and colleagues presented six labels for genome sequence data that are, or will become, available in public databases rather than the two labels used today. The six labels would roughly characterize the completeness and accuracy—and consequently, the potential reliability—of genetic sequencing data. This is of great importance since researchers use such data on a daily basis for cross-referencing unknown genetic material with the genetic material of known organisms. Every living organism with DNA has chromosomes containing the four molecular building blocks, or base pairs, represented by letters A, T, G, and C. One chromosome can contain millions of base pairs arranged like rungs on a ladder of DNA.