Lisa Brooks and Jeff Schloss [NIH National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)] updated the workshop on current projects and future plans for NIH-supported large-scale sequencing. Third-year awards for pilot projects were made this summer after a review that included sequence-quality assessment of clones selected by NHGRI staff. Two checker groups reassemble trace files, assess the assembly quality overall and at the single-base level, and then sequence to resolve discrepancies found in the GenBank record. The original sequencer has the opportunity to review and respond to the evaluation.

NHGRI released an RFA in January for participation in a cooperative research network comprising three areas: sequence-production centers; specialized centers to sequence difficult regions or close gaps, for example, or test new technology, methodology, and instrumentation; and a quality-control center.

Awards are expected to cover up to 3 years for specialized centers and the quality-control center and up to 5 years for production facilities. The network's goal is to complete 1.8 billion bp (60%) of human DNA sequence by 2005, a rate that will require 300 Mb of finished sequence annually between 1999 and 2005. According to Schloss, NHGRI will set aside $60 million a year for production sequencing.

Another NHGRI RFA released in January solicited applications for grants to develop genomic-scale technologies or implement pilot-scale or large-scale projects for the discovery and scoring of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Analysis of such DNA sequence variation is an increasingly important source of information for identifying genes involved both in disease and normal biological processes such as development, aging, and reproduction. A public SNP database, under development at the National Center for Biotechnology Information, is expected to come online later this year.