454 Life Sciences Corporation of US would be able to give mapping of one’s genome in $10,000, however the genome of James Watson is the first to be sequenced for less than $1 million.
454 Life Sciences Corporation, in collaboration with scientists at the Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, announced in Houston, Texas, the completion of a project to sequence the genome of James D. Watson, Ph.D., co-discoverer of the double-helix structure of DNA.
The mapping of Dr. Watson’s genome was completed using the Genome Sequencer FLX(TM) system and marks the first individual genome to be sequenced for less than $1 million.
“When we began the Human Genome Project, we anticipated it would take 15 years to sequence the 3 billion base pairs and identify all the genes,” said Richard Gibbs, Ph.D., director, Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine. “We completed it in 13 years in 2003 — coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the publication of the work of Watson and Dr. Francis Crick that described the double helix. Today, we give James Watson a DVD containing his personal genome — a project completed in only two months. It demonstrates how far sequencing technology has come in a short time.”
Christopher McLeod, president and CEO of 454 Life Sciences, added: “The sequencing of Dr. Watson’s genome validates the approach taken by 454 Life Sciences in developing a technology to make the sequencing of individual human genomes quick and affordable. As we take another step on the path toward the X-Prize and reducing the cost of human genome sequencing to $10,000, we hope to enable a new era of medicine that is tailored to a patient’s unique genetic profile.”