African genome

26 March 2009

Researchers have decoded the first African human genome using a new, faster and lower-cost sequencing method. The team, including scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, identified significantly more polymorphisms than in a European human genome, with many variants previously unknown. The researchers say the new techniques make whole human genome sequencing potentially feasible as a clinical tool in the near future.

Reference

Bentley DR et al. Accurate whole human genome sequencing using reversible terminator chemistry. Nature 2008;456(7218):53-9.