HUMAN GENOME PROJECT (HGP)


1.      What do you know about HGP?


What were its goals?

When did the project start?

How long did it take to finish the project?

How successful were the researchers?

How many bases does the human genome consist of?

What were the early days of the HGP? (use the verb 'it used to be' to explain it)

What was a milestone in the whole process?


2.      Watch the video Cracking the Code of  Life (Section 2: Getting the Letters Out) to get some
answers.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/genome/program.html




3.      What were the HGP goals? Complete the verbs from the list.

store, identify, determine, address, transfer, improve

·         ______________ all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA,

·         ______________ the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA,

·         ______________ this information in databases,

·         ______________ tools for data analysis,

·         ______________ related technologies to the private sector, and

·         ______________ the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that may arise from the
project.

                            Based on: http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/home.shtml


4.      Complete the gaps with suitable words. The words at the bottom of page 4 can help you.
However, you should use a suitable form.

The Human Genome Project (HGP) is an international 13-year effort formally begun in October 1990.
The project was planned to last 15 years, but rapid ______________ advances accelerated the
completion to 2003. Project goals were to ______________ the complete sequence of the
______________ DNA subunits (bases), ______________ all human genes, and make them accessible for
further biological study. As part of the HGP, parallel ______________ was done for selected model
______________ such as the bacterium E. coli to help develop the technology and interpret human
______________ function. The Department of Energy's Human Genome Program and the National
Institutes of Health's National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) together sponsored the U.S.
Human Genome Project.
                                                                         Based
on:  http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/faq/faqs1.shtml

5.      What are the comparative genome sizes of humans and other organisms being studied? Complete
the organisms into the table.


H. influenzae
(bacteria)


Caenorhabditis elegans
(roundworm)


Mus musculus
(mouse)


Drosophila melanogaster
(fruit fly)


Arabidopsis thaliana
(plant)


Homo sapiens
(human)


Saccharomyces cerevisiae
(yeast)


Escherichia coli
(bacteria)

organism

                                          estimated size
                                           (base pairs)

                                             estimated
                                            gene number

                                       average gene density

                                            chromosome
                                              number


                                            3.2 billion

                                              ~25,000

                                     1 gene per 100,000 bases

                                                46


                                            2.6 billion

                                              ~25,000

                                     1 gene per 100,000 bases

                                                40



                                            137 million

                                              13,000

                                      1 gene per 9,000 bases

                                                 8



                                            100 million

                                              25,000

                                       1 gene per 4000 bases

                                                10



                                            97 million

                                              19,000

                                       1 gene per 5000 bases

                                                12



                                           12.1 million

                                               6000

                                       1 gene per 2000 bases

                                                32



                                            4.6 million

                                               3200

                                       1 gene per 1400 bases

                                                 1



                                            1.8 million

                                               1700

                                       1 gene per 1000 bases

                                                 1


                     Based on: http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/faq/compgen.shtml




6.      Put the words in order to create a meaningful sentence.



The


             Sequencing


                       of


                                 only


                                           a


                                                       35,000


Genome


             reduce


                       -coding


                                 protein


                                           number


                                                       species.


International


             human


                       20,000


                                 Consortium


                                           for


                                                       number


the


             Human


                       genes


                                 estimated


                                           surprisingly



from


             to


                         -25,000,


                                 low


                                           our





7.      Watch the video and complete the information on HGP. (Introduction)
http://www.genome.gov/25019885













ad 4) identification, three, billion, gene, sequence, determination, technology, organism