Dr. Edward M. (Eddy) Rubin, an internationally known geneticist and medical researcher, has been named Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI). Rubin was also named Director of the Genomics Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Rubin, who had been serving as Interim Director of JGI since spring 2002, was…
Sea Squirt DNA Sheds Light on Vertebrate Evolution
WALNUT CREEK, CA — The streamlined genome of Ciona intestinalis, a common sea squirt closely related to vertebrates on the evolutionary tree, is providing new clues about the origins of key vertebrate systems and structures including the human hormone, nervous and immune systems. In an article for the December 13, 2002 edition of the journal…
JGI to Decode DNA of Destructive Plant Pathogen
Backed by nearly $4 million in funding from three Federal agencies, researchers in California and Virginia are joining forces to learn the genetic secrets of a notorious plant pathogen that causes billions of dollars a year in damage to forests and soybean crops. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI) in…
Researchers to Toast “Good” Bacteria
The next time you chow down on a sausage pizza, enjoy a refreshing frozen yogurt, or savor a fine wine, remember to thank the bugs. Lactic acid bacteria (bacteria that ferment sugars into lactic acid) play an essential role in the production of wine, as well as such fermented foods as cheese, yogurt, pickles, sausage…
Joint Genome Institute to Sequence Key African Frog Genome
WALNUT CREEK, CA — In their continuing search for new clues to how human genes function and how vertebrates develop and evolve, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI) are gearing up to map the DNA of a diminutive, fast-growing African frog named Xenopus tropicalis. Frogs have long been a favorite…
Pufferfish DNA Yields Clues to Human Biology
An international research consortium led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI) reported today on the draft sequencing, assembly, and analysis of the genome of the Japanese pufferfish Fugu rubripes. The report was released on Science Magazine’s Science Express Web site. Pufferfish have the smallest known genomes among vertebrates, the group of…
A First Line of Defense Against Disease Organisms
WALNUT CREEK, CA — The Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI), whose Production Genomics Facility in Walnut Creek is one of the fastest and most powerful in the U.S., has been enlisted to help safeguard public safety by determining the whole genome sequences of a variety of infectious bacteria–a first step toward developing tests…
Department of Energy Solicits Recommendations for Microbial Sequencing Targets
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking nominations of microbes and microbial communities as candidates for draft genomic sequencing in support of its Microbial Genome and the Genomes to Life Programs. Candidate microbes and microbial communities should be relevant to DOE mission needs, e.g., microbes involved in environmental processes, waste remediation, carbon management, energy…
Gene-Rich Pufferfish DNA Decoded
An international research consortium has taken a substantial short cut to the biologically important information embedded in the human genome with the completion of a draft sequence of the genome of the Japanese pufferfish Fugu rubripes. The Fugu draft sequence will be announced at the 13th International Genome Sequencing and Analysis Conference in San Diego,…
Joint Genome Institute Facility’s New Name Shows Changing Mission
The Joint Genome Institute’s Walnut Creek facility has been given a new name. The name change – to the Production Genomics Facility from the Production Sequencing Facility – reflects a shift in focus and its changing scientific environment, according to JGI Director Trevor Hawkins. Since the JGI was established in 1997, combining the gene-sequencing efforts…