NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) — 454 Life Sciences and the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College have finished sequencing, verifying, and annotating the genome of James Watson, the partners said today.
The project took two months and cost less than $1 million, the first human genome to break the $1 million mark, the company and the school said. 454 handled the sequencing and BCM verified and interpreted the data, Baylor said.
Michael Egholm, 454’s vice president of R&D, said the company performed the sequencing on its GS FLX systems and obtained “a near complete picture” of Watson’s genome. He also said the project identified “missing pieces of the public reference genome” generated by the Human Genome Project.
Watson will receive the sequence on a DVD at an event today at Baylor’s campus that will include speeches by Watson and representatives of 454 and BCM. He will decide what portions of his genomic information will be made public.