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Chapter 18: Problem 6

List and describe three major goals of the Human Genome Project.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: The three major goals of the Human Genome Project were 1) identifying all human genes, 2) determining the sequence of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up the human genome, and 3) storing the genetic information and developing tools for efficient data storage, retrieval, and analysis.

Step by step solution

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Brief Overview of the Human Genome Project

The Human Genome Project was an international research effort to determine the sequence of the human genome and identify the genes that it contains. It was officially launched in 1990 and declared complete in 2003. By sequencing and mapping the human genome, scientists aimed to better understand human biology and develop new strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
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Goal 1: Identifying all human genes

The first major goal of the Human Genome Project was to identify all the genes in human DNA. Genes are specific sequences of bases that provide instructions on making proteins. By identifying the genes and their locations in the genome, researchers can better understand how these genes function, how they are regulated, and how they influence human health and diseases.
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Goal 2: Determining the sequence of the 3 billion chemical base pairs

Another primary goal of the Human Genome Project was to determine the sequence of the approximately 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up the human genome. This involved determining the order of the four chemical building blocks (adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine) that make up the DNA molecule. By achieving this goal, researchers were able to create a "reference genome" that serves as a valuable resource for studying the role of genetic factors in health and diseases.
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Goal 3: Storing the genetic information and developing tools for analysis

The third major goal of the Human Genome Project was to store the vast amount of genetic information generated by the project in databases and develop tools for efficient data storage, retrieval, and analysis. This made the genetic information accessible to researchers worldwide, enabling them to study the functions of genes and their roles in various biological processes. Additionally, this goal involved the development of new technologies and techniques, such as advanced sequencing methods, that facilitated the progress of genomics research.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Exome sequencing is a procedure to help physicians identify the cause of a genetic condition that has defied diagnosis by traditional means. The implication here is that exons in the nuclear genome are sequenced in the hopes that, by comparison with the genomes of nonaffected individuals, a diagnosis might be revealed. (a) What are the strengths and weaknesses of this approach? (b) If you were ordering exome sequencing for a patient, would you also include an analysis of the patient's mitochondrial genome?

In this chapter, we focused on the analysis of genomes, transcriptomes, and proteomes and considered important applications and findings from these endeavors. At the same time, we found many opportunities to consider the methods and reasoning by which much of this information was acquired. From the explanations given in the chapter, what answers would you propose to the following fundamental questions: (a) How do we know which contigs are part of the same chromosome? (b) How do we know if a genomic DNA sequence contains a protein-coding gene? (c) What evidence supports the concept that humans share substantial sequence similarities and gene functional similarities with model organisms? (d) How can proteomics identify differences between the number of protein- coding genes predicted for a genome and the number of proteins expressed by a genome? (e) How have microarrays demonstrated that, although all cells of an organism have the same genome, some genes are expressed in almost all cells, whereas other genes show celland tissue-specific expression?

What is bioinformatics, and why is this discipline essential for studying genomes? Provide two examples of bioinformatics applications.

The term paralog is often used in conjunction with discussions of hemoglobin genes. What does this term mean, and how does it apply to hemoglobin genes?

Through the Human Genome Project (HGP), a relatively accurate human genome sequence was published in 2003 from combined samples from different individuals. It serves as a reference for a haploid genome. Recently, genomes of a number of individuals have been sequenced under the auspices of the Personal Genome Project (PGP). How do results from the PGP differ from those of the HGP?
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