Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 



Research Facility 

 Narratives 



Introduction 



The human genome project at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 

 (LLNL) is a multidisciplinary effort. It draws upon the Livermore matrix 

 organization to bring together a team of chemists, molecular biologists, 

 physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists, and engineers in an interactive research 

 environment. The broad goals of the project are to: 



• develop biological and physical resources useful for genome research. 



• model and evaluate DNA mapping and sequencing strategies, 



• combine these resources and strategies in an optimal way to construct ordered-clone 

 maps and DNA sequences of human chromosomes, and 



• use the map and sequence information to study genome organization and variation. 



Livermore's entry into genomics research was facilitated by existing scientific interest, 

 expertise, and research in molecular biology, cytogenetics, mutagenesis, and instru- 

 mentation development, as well as by participation m the National Laboratory Gene 

 Library Project. In addition, the programs at Livermore have contributed substantially to 

 the identification and characterization of human DNA repair genes and specifically to 

 the three DNA repair genes on chromosome 19. It is not unexpected then that LLNL's 

 initial interest focused on this particular chromosome. Because Livermore"s program is 

 multidisciplinary. a variety of scientific talent can be drawn upon to meet its needs. 

 Livemiore's role in the DOE Human Genome Program is one of technology devel- 

 opment, validation, and application to ongoing and new programs in structural biology 

 and mutagenesis. The present human genome effort at Livermore involves several 

 interactive research components that have as a common goal the construction of 

 ordered-clone maps of the human genome. These component tasks include: 



The National Laboratory Gene Library Project. This project is a joint effort with 

 Los Alamos National Laboratory and has as its goal the construction of human- 

 chromosome-specific libraries in lambda, cosmid, and yeast artificial chromosome 

 (YAC) vectors for use in physical mapping and other studies. The project draws upon 

 experience in flow instrumentation and chromosome sorting at these two national 

 laboratories. 



Resource Development and Management. The group working on this project is 

 responsible for several tasks, including the construction of specialized cloning vectors 

 and recombinant libraries for application to physical map construction; the development 

 of new biochemical and biophysical techniques for mapping and sequencing; and the 

 management and distribution of Livermore"s material resources such as cell lines, 

 probes, library arrays, filters, and DNA. 



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