A High-throughput Gene Discovery System for Arabidopsis Genome Sequencing Project

Arabidopsis thaliana is a small weed in the mustard family Brassicaceae which has become the model organism for research in plant biology. The 130-megabase genome of the plant is organized into five chromosomes and contains an estimated 20,000 genes. To understand the entire genetic system in this plants, we initiated large-scale sequencing project of the Arabidopsis thaliana genome. We are taking part in sequencing of the entire bottom arm and portions of the top arm of chromosome 5, and also the top arm of chromosome 3 along the line of the international agreement of the Arabidopsis Genome Initiative (AGI). The entire genome is scheduled to be sequenced by July of the year 2000. During the process of annotating genomic sequence of clones on chromosome 3 and 5, we have constructed a system for high-throughput gene modeling process. Examples of our gene finding process and features of deduced genes will be presented.