Models International alliances formed to sequence yeast, C. elegans , humans, and Arabidopsis provide examples of how to manage an international collaboration to sequence rice. These previously established efforts will provide examples for the present endeavor. It can be noted, that government agencies are fortunately already familiar with the writing and approval of memoranda of agreement in this area. In other projects, it has proven useful for all groups to have access to and work from the same few libraries . These are principles that the participants in the rice genome sequencing collaboration have already agreed to.
Scientists initiate the collaboration.
Scientific rather than political decisions should dictate the specifics of the collaboration. Individual sequencing projects will be funded nationally, locally managed, and subject to oversight of their respective funding agencies. Nevertheless, a system of peer oversight should guide these projects. Sequencing should be done in the most efficient manner based on the science. The effort should not be diluted by peripheral projects.