The Berkeley Lab map reaches an average depth of some 13 overlapping BAC clones and is the most accurate and complete STS content map ever constructed for any genome. This helps the larva make lots of a particular protein in a short time. Working with colleagues in Gerald Rubin s laboratory on the UC Berkeley campus, the Berkeley Lab researchers demonstrated 98 percent coverage of the polytene by clones in their map. The rough draft is being used to close the hundreds of remaining gaps in the Celera sequence and to improve its accuracy. The completion of D. melanogaster s genome and the enumeration of its 13,601 genes were announced in a special issue of Science magazine on March 24, 2000.
Fruit flies can provide clues to understanding human genetic diseases.
Along with Celniker and Hoskins, other members of the BDGP group s management team at Berkeley Lab are Reed George, Suzanna Lewis, Mark Stapleton, and Richard Galle. After 90 years of pioneering discoveries, the swift completion of the fruit fly genome stands as the latest milestone in genetic research made possible by this remarkable animal.