Summary of the First Tetrahymena Genome Project meeting

The First Tetrahymena Genome Project Meeting took place in Chicago, IL on October 16, 1999. Its purpose was to outline and organize the Tetrahymena genome-sequencing project. It was convened by the participants of the August 1999 Ciliate Genomics Workshop, held in conjunction with the FASEB (international) conference on Ciliate Molecular Biology. The Chicago meeting was attended by 10 established investigators from the US and Canada.

The Tetrahymena genome sequence will have important scientific significance for reasons that include its value as a free-living, microbial animal model system for biomedical research and the comparative genomics potential conferred by its key evolutionary distance from other eukaryotes whose genome have been -- or are being -- sequenced. The group reaffirmed the FASEB Genomics Workshop decision to give the highest priority to the complete sequencing and annotation of the entire 200 Mb macronuclear (MAC) genome, i.e. the expressed or somatic genome.

It was agreed that macronuclear DNA should be used as the primary source of DNA for shotgun sequencing. The genome is roughly 15 times smaller than the human or mouse genome. It is small enough, and repeated sequences are sufficiently rare, to be sequenced entirely by whole-genome shotgun sequencing, using currently available technology. The entire project could probably be finished in three to four years. Only large sequencing centers could do the job in the short time and with the cost savings made possible by automation. The most valuable sequence information, i.e., genes, should become available as quickly as possible to the scientific community. Thus, a rough draft consisting of raw sequencing and automated electronic assembly and annotation would have high priority. All the sequence data obtained through this project should be placed in the public domain and it should be available free of charge and other restrictions for use in not-for-profit scientific research. Preliminary discussions with officers at NIH have yielded encouragement for at least an initial pilot project. Additional funding possibilities will be explored. The group also discussed useful proposals of reduced scope if the availability of funds dictates slower progress for the project.

Progress regarding other important Tetrahymena genomic resources was reviewed. These projects are regarded as investigator-initiated research projects that can be submitted, reviewed and funded through the normal research grant mechanism. Funded projects currently generating important genomic resources include: physical and deletion mapping of the genome, and antisense-mediated mutagenesis. Efforts to clone mutant genes by complementation or recombination rescue are also underway. Projects at earlier stages of implementation include: complete, large-insert (BAC and YAC) genomic libraries; a complete library of MAC telomere-adjacent inserts; faster genetic mapping of mutant genes to MAC chromosomes; inducible-repressible promoter systems; complete sequence of the MIC DNA segment that corresponds to a MAC chromosome; and Tetrahymena EST projects. Resources also discussed included a genome database and bioinformatics, a course in Tetrahymena-specific genetics and molecular biology, and an electronic bulletin board for the quick exchange of data and ideas.

Ed Orias was selected to be the Coordinator of the project. He will have primary responsibility for securing funding and sequencing facilities, as well as for the preparation and submission of project proposals. He will continue to work closely with Peter Bruns and Marty Gorovsky, and with the group attending the Chicago meeting, constituted as a Steering Committee. Major decisions about the project will be made after consulting with the entire Ciliate community.