It can't happen in a single leap. But a lag time for informatics support on these processes is inevitable because support requirements are not yet clear. In general terms, informatics for sequencing encompasses clone resources and validation, sequence production, sequence analysis and annotation, informatics integration, and systems administration. Prime areas of informatics concern include improving sequence quality-control tracking and reporting, increasing automation of finishing tasks, linking mapping data with sequencing, and starting some pilot informatics projects to support early functional genomics efforts. The JGI informatics team is using systems already in place at the three participating laboratories, sharing code, and standardizing where feasible.
Major challenges are to modify process changes and automate sequence finishing.
Slezak observed that large increases in automation present severe informatics challenges, such as moving from many small robots to automating individual processes to an automated factory. He also noted the difficulty of predicting how much these efforts will speed up finishing, and he warned that the system will hit inherent limits.