%0 Journal Article
%T Beyond the Genome: genomics research ten years after the human genome sequence
%A Amanda M Casto
%A Clara Amid
%J Genome Biology
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/gb-2010-11-11-309
%X Ten years ago, the first draft sequence of the human genome was released, ushering in the post-genomic era. Since then, the costs of sequencing have plummeted and many new sequencing technologies have been introduced. These conditions have allowed researchers to investigate a wide variety of genomes that may be important in human health and disease, including those of cancer cells and of the organisms that live on our skin and in our gut. Others have taken the opportunity to revisit lingering questions about the human genome itself, including those related to gene number, the importance of non-protein coding genes, and the identification of functional and selected variants. Investigators from both academia and industry interested in these questions and others gathered at the 'Beyond the Genome' conference in Boston recently to discuss the current state and future trajectory of genomics research. The meeting was organized by BioMed Central and Genome Biology to mark 10 years in science publishing.In their keynote addresses, Steven Salzberg (University of Maryland, College Park, USA) reviewed the history of publications estimating the human gene count, while George Church (Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, USA) discussed how the rapidly shrinking costs of sequencing have facilitated the realization of the Personal Genome Project (PGP) http://www.personalgenomes.org webcite, an effort to obtain and interpret genome information by collecting medical information and full genome sequences for 100,000 individuals. This will include studies of interactions between genes and environmental factors such as microbes and immune responses to allergens, viruses and toxins (Genome+Environment = Trait; GET). Currently all publicly available genomes from the PGP are integrated into GET-evidence http://evidence.personalgenomes.org webcite.The identification of genes with driver mutations critical in oncogenesis has been a central aim of cancer research, as these genes may represent n
%U http://genomebiology.com/2010/11/11/309