EU grant for 3D genomics research
group of academic institutes behind the 3DGENOME research
programme, which is exploring how the genome functions in health
and disease.
The main objective of the 3DGENOME program is to understand how the DNA molecules that carry our genetic information are coiled up inside our cells.
"By changing the way that DNA is folded, cells control the switching on and off genes. The results will help to understand errors in our genetic system that for instance result in tumour formation," said the consortium in a statement.
Folding of DNA plays an important role in how a cell switches genes on and off, thereby deciding how the cell behaves. Folding decides whether a cell becomes a skin cell, a liver cell or a neuron, and whether a cell is healthy or sick.
The research programme is conducted by a consortium of seven European partners and is coordinated by Roel van Driel of the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences of the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands.
Using advanced microscopic techniques in combination with novel data analysis software, the consortium of European scientists intend to establish a three-dimensional map of the DNA fibre inside the human cell. This spatial structure will be related to patterns of switched off and switched on genes along the DNA molecule.
Since it is very likely that the three-dimensional organisation of genomes is the same for all animals, the 3DGENOME program, in addition to human cells, incorporates studies on cells from the mouse and from fruit flies, two well-studied organisms.
Each of these organisms has certain advantages, such as detailed information about how genes are arranged on the DNA and which genes are switched on and off, technology to visualise DNA inside the cell using state-of-the-art microscopy, and methods to analyse microscopy images and to obtain information about the three-dimensional folding of DNA.
The funds have been awarded under the EU Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) for Research and Development (2002-2006). FP6 is one of the world's largest research programmes, with a budget of €17.5 billion, of which around €3 billion is available for life sciences research.
New FP6 call
Meanwhile, the European Commission has published the third call for research proposals in life sciences, genomics, and biotechnology in its Sixth Framework Program. The total budget for life science projects under the call is €540 million.
The call is seeking projects for "advanced genomics and its applications for health," including fundamental knowledge and basic tools for functional genomics in all organisms, and the deadline for submitting proposals is 16 November.
