The goal for the DNA Sequencing Shared Resource is to provide high quality DNA sequence analysis at low cost and with rapid turn-around to members of the Cancer Center. The facility operates ABI 373 and 377 automated DNA sequencers, an ABI Catalyst 800 Robotic Work Station, an ABI DNA/RNA synthesizer, and six support computers with appropriate software. Funds are requested to support a portion of salaries of four individuals involved in facility operations and 15 percent of the service contracts for the various apparatus in the facility. The use of the DNA Sequence Facility has increased over 500 percent since the time of the last review. Usage is primarily measured in terms of DNA sequence output, expressed as number of base pairs. The number of investigators that have used the DNA Sequencing Share Resource is a second measure of utilization. Approximately 1.2 million base pairs of sequence were generated in the 1995/1996 fiscal year. Twenty-five Cancer Center members, including 23 with peer-reviewed funded projects, used the facility on 26 funded projects; 52 non-members used it as well. The relative use by members of the Cancer Center, expressed as percentage of bases sequenced, was 44 percent. The total capacity of the shared resource was not provided in the written materials, but at the site visit, it was indicated that the use of the resource had increased further and that it is currently operating at 80 percent of capacity. The applicants anticipate a continued increase in use of the facility. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute at UCLA contributed the ABI 377 automated DNA sequencer to the Shared Resource output.
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