Meeting Abstract

S8.2  Tuesday, Jan. 6  Sequencing the genome of non-traditional model organisms. DI PALMA, Federica*; SWOFFORD, Ross; GRABHERR, Manfred; MAUCELI, Evan; PIRUN, Mono; LANDER, Eric S.; LINDBLAD-TOH, Kerstin; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Genome Biology; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Genome Biology; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Genome Biology; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Genome Biology; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Genome Biology fdipalma@broad.mit.edu

The Broad Institute has been given the responsibility to sequence the complete genome of several terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates. As genome sequence information in vertebrate species increases, comparative genomics provides investigators with the power to study the key molecular mechanisms responsible for specific adaptations. 
The Caribbean anole lizard, the threespine stickleback, and the African Cichlids represent classic examples of adaptive radiations, and evolutionary divergence due to natural selection. The availability of complete genome sequences for these species will reveal valuable information on the size, structure and content of their genome, including their functional landscape of coding and non-coding regulatory sequences; it will allow the further development of genomic tools to facilitate: the comparison between genomes, the understanding how variation shapes the genome, and the relationship between normal developmental processes and disease. Here we give specific examples of how Broad genome sequencing projects leverage the science in these non-traditional model species, facilitating the study of comparative genomics and evolution.