Arthropod Sequencing at the BCM-HGSC
The Arthropod Sequencing projects at the BCM-HGSC have all been completed and are presented on this website as historical data for informational purposes.
The BCM-HGSC has a long history of arthropod sequencing, starting as a partner in the sequencing and finishing of Drosophila melanogaster, which completed parts of chromosomes 3 and X.
Using Sanger technology, we went on to sequence the second fruitfly D. pseudoobscura, the honey bee, the red flour beetle, the parasitic jewel wasp Nasonia, and the polyphenic pea aphid.
Improvements in Sequencing Technologies
As sequencing technologies have improved and costs come down, we have been involved in many more projects including the 454 platform: the wheat pest hessian fly, a general pest Helicoverpa amigera in collaboration with CSIRO, the centipede, the postman butterfly, eight new Drosophila species as part of the ModEnocde project, and several others.
Illumina technology has engendered even more ambition. With Trudy Mackay, we sequenced the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel—a population of 200 inbred lines enabling GWAS analysis in Drosophila, and we are now sequencing a small pilot of the i5K initiative—an initiative to sequence and analyze the genomes of 5,000 arthropods.
Insect Vectors of Human Disease
Finally, we also sequence arthropod vectors of human disease, and are involved in the sequencing of the sand fly and black fly, vectors of leishmaniasis and river blindness respectively.
Project Categories
The sections below have organized the projects into different categories.
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Drosophila projects: Drosophila is the Rosetta Stone of arthropod—and perhaps animal—genomics. These pages including the now finished D. melanogaster and D. pseudoobscura pages, as well as the ongoing Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel, and Drosophila ModEncode species sequencing. The original D. melanogaster and D. pseudoobscura pages are here for the historical record, it is best to go to flybase for the most recent data.
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Ongoing de novo projects: Include vectors and the i5K pilot, and other species in progress.
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Completed arthropod genomes: For the historical record, we are keeping our pages for the honey bee, red flour beetle, nasonia, pea aphid, heliconius, and other completed projects.
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Cancelled projects: The following projects are no longer being pursued: Lucerne flea, Green mantisfly, and Trentino conehead.
