This approach was pioneered by Craig Venter, now director of TIGR , which made public a major EST data release in June 1997. Genome Center Human EST Project . The ESTs are deposited in the public database dbEST which supports queries on the similarities of ESTs and cDNAs to cDNA molecules whose analysis is just beginning. The I.M.A.G.E. consortium manages distribution of reference sets of cDNAs. Over 3 million clone replicas have been sent to over 1000 laboratories worldwide.
End users return data on the analyzed clones.
All data are entered into public databases, enabling researchers to compare this against their preliminary cDNA sequencing data and eliminate redundant efforts. EST analyses of over 500,000 cDNA I.M.A.G.E. clones suggest that over 50,000 of the estimated 60,000 to 80,000 human genes are represented. To annotate developing chromosome maps, DOE in 1990 began dedicated support for improved cDNA library production, early EST generation by C. Venter's team, physical mapping of cDNAs onto chromosomes, and database support. High throughput correlations of cDNAs with the new BAC resources are also in progress. The sequencing of cDNAs corresponding to genes recognized during genomic sequencing is often a component of major chromosome sequencing projects.