SÃO PAOLO--Brazil has announced plans to create a network of laboratories, the Organization for Nucleotide Sequencing and Analysis, here to sequence the complete genome of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which causes a number of plant diseases, particularly those that threaten Brazil's important citrus industry. One of the laboratories will be specifically devoted to bioinformatics. There will also be two large laboratories to generate sequence data and act as training and support centers for the rest of the network.
The sequence would be the first of a plant pathogen genome. The center will be funded from a combination of public and private-sector sources. Among those overseeing the project will be well known international researchers, including Andre Goffeau of the University of Louvain and Steve Oliver of the University of Manchester.