The Joint Genome Institute (JGI) was created in 1997 to unite the expertise and resources in genome mapping, DNA sequencing, technology development, and information sciences pioneered at the DOE genome centers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). In 1999, the University of California, which managed the three national labs for the DOE, leased 60,000 square feet of laboratory and office space in a light industrial park in Walnut Creek, California, to consolidate activities and accommodate JGI's 160 employees in what is known now as the Production Genomics Facility (PGF). The JGI, led by Eddy Rubin, M.D., Ph.D., receives its funding from the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in DOE's Office of Science. Sixty percent of JGI sequencing is for the Community Sequencing Program (CSP), and the remaining 40% is for DOE programs. The vast majority of sequencing as part of these programs is related to the DOE mission areas of bioremediation, bioenergy, and carbon sequestration.

The JGI makes high-quality genome sequencing data freely available to the greater scientific community through its web portal. Having played a significant role in the federally funded Human Genome Project--generating the complete sequences of Chromosomes 5, 16, and 19--the JGI has now moved on to contributing in other critical areas of genomics research. While National Institute of Health-funded genome sequencing activities continue to emphasize human biomedical targets and applications, the JGI has since shifted its focus to the non-human components of the biosphere, particularly those relevant to the science mission of the Department of Energy. With efficiencies of scale established at the PGF, and capacity now exceeding three billion bases generated on a monthly basis, the JGI has tackled scores of additional genomes. These include more than 60 microbial genomes and many important multicellular organisms and communities of microbes. In partnership with other federal institutions and universities, the JGI is in the process of sequencing a frog (Xenopus tropicalis), a green alga (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii), a diatom (Thalassiosira pseudonana) , the cottonwood tree (Populus trichocarpa), and a host of agriculturally important plants and plant pathogens. Microorganisms, for example those that thrive under extreme conditions such as high acidity, radiation, and metal contamination, are of particular interest to the DOE and JGI. Investigations by JGI and its partners are shedding light on the cellular machinery of microbes and how they can be harnessed to clean up contaminated soil or water, capture carbon from the atmosphere, and produce potentially important sources of energy such as hydrogen and methane.

At the PGF, the JGI also supports programs dedicated to functional and evolutionary genomics related to the organisms and environments being sequenced and the development of computational and bioinformatic tools for data management and mining.

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The Joint Genome Institute gives out an "Ergo Cup" for an ergonomics solution / competition http://twitpic.com/oxkpj
phylogenomics (Jonathan Eisen) Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:28:01 -0000
The Joint Genome Institute gives out an "Ergo Cup" for an ergonomics solution / competition http://twitpic.com/oxkpj

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