Evolutionary conservation of structure-function relationships in proteins allows us to integrate information from various species and make inferences about biological phenomena in different organisms. Over the next decade a basic understanding of the function of most genes will be obtained for several model organisms. Dictyostelium is a social amoeba whose study has contributed to our understanding of diverse biological processes common to many eukaryotes. The in-depth study of model organisms such as Dictyostelium will inform us about human biology and this will inevitably aid in the detection and treatment of disease. This proposal describes a continuing effort to sequencing about one-half of the Dictyostelium genome. The previous project period focused on feasibility studies and the sequencing of chromosome 6. This proposal targets chromosomes 4 and 5 which together constitute about one-third of the 34-Mb genome. We will use whole chromosome shotgun sequencing combined with sample sequencing of a minimum overlapping set of large-insert clones to generate contiguous and highly accurate sequence. The assembled DNA will be integrated with a high-resolution physical map from which finishing experiments will be planned and carried out to complete the sequence. The sequence will be richly annotated and submitted to public databases. All raw sequence data will be made available as soon as possible via our website. The availability of complete genome sequences promises to accelerate research into fundamental mechanisms of cell and developmental biology and the challenge now is to define the genes contained in those genomes and determine their function. Microorganisms that are amenable to high-throughput methods of investigation such as Dictyostelium have been and will continue to be instrumental in this endeavor. The Dictyostelium genome sequence will provide the first detailed glimpse of a biological system that is more complex than single-celled organisms, yet still simple enough to understand completely in the foreseeable future. The genomic data will allow specialists in all areas of biology to enrich the initial findings and make useful extrapolations to other species. Complete sequence data obtained from experimentally tractable organisms, such as Dictyostelium, will continue to stimulate genomic investigations in many systems, including humans.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD035925-06
Application #
6643520
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-SSS-Y (04))
Program Officer
Moody, Sally Ann
Project Start
1998-09-21
Project End
2005-06-30
Budget Start
2003-07-01
Budget End
2005-06-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$1,255,669
Indirect Cost
Name
Baylor College of Medicine
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
051113330
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77030
Eichinger, L; Pachebat, J A; Glockner, G et al. (2005) The genome of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. Nature 435:43-57
Song, Jie; Xu, Qikai; Olsen, Rolf et al. (2005) Comparing the Dictyostelium and Entamoeba genomes reveals an ancient split in the Conosa lineage. PLoS Comput Biol 1:e71
Raisley, Brent; Zhang, Minghang; Hereld, Dale et al. (2004) A cAMP receptor-like G protein-coupled receptor with roles in growth regulation and development. Dev Biol 265:433-45
Sucgang, Richard; Chen, Guokai; Liu, Wen et al. (2003) Sequence and structure of the extrachromosomal palindrome encoding the ribosomal RNA genes in Dictyostelium. Nucleic Acids Res 31:2361-8