For more than 70 years E. coli , a natural inhabitant of the lower intestinal tract of animals, has been one of the most studied organisms for scientists exploring fundamental processes in biochemistry, genetics, and physiology. In recent years it has become the workhorse of biotechnology and serves as a living factory for producing human insulin and other medicines. The strain used in this study does not cause disease, but related toxic strains have been associated with an increasing number of human food poisonings. The new data will enable scientists to compare the genes of nontoxic and pathogenic strains to pinpoint those responsible for toxicity, laying the groundwork for the development of drugs to treat diseases associated with E. coli . Web Sites for E. coli Sequence Data Data have been available through online databases such as GenBank since January.
Annotation is ongoing, and comments to the authors are appreciated.
With an average STS spacing of about 79 kb, the new map exceeds the Human Genome Project goal and provides a framework for future chromosome 7 sequencing. This work is supported by the DOE Microbial Genome Program. The summary includes principles endorsed by attendees on sequence quality, submission and annotation, and claims and etiquette. The next meeting is planned for the end of February 1998 in Bermuda.