The 1999 ABRF DNA SEQUENCE RESEARCH COMMITTEE STANDARD TEMPLATE STUDY will open
for sequencing data submissions on January 5, 1999. We ask that you submit
chromatogram (electropherogram) analysis files of the results of sequencing
standard pGEM template using an M13 forward primer with any chemistry, run
condition, and machine type. Details of how to submit samples are posted at
http://mbcf.dfci.harvard.edu/dsrc.html.
The full title of this study is "The ABRF DNA Sequence Research Committee
Standard Template Study: The Never Ending Story." It is a continuation of a
study conducted by the DNA Sequence Research Committee in 1998, in which a web
based archive was created of DNA sequencing results using a standard template.
Since DNA sequencing technology is changing constantly, the aim of this 1999
study is to update the information available in the archive to ensure its
continued relevance.
The overall goal of this study is to analyze the effect of different sequencing
methods on the quality of sequencing results. Sequence data are submitted
anonymously by FTP and details of the sequencing conditions are collected on a
web based survey form. The effect of factors such as different types of
instrumentation and chemistries are examined. Data is posted on a web site in
a format that can be used as a benchmark for sequencing. The results of this
study may be used to: (1) anonymously evaluate the quality of sequencing
results relative to that achieved in other laboratories (quality control); (2)
systematically evaluate different instruments, chemistries and protocols when
considering either equipment purchases or modifications to standard operating
procedures (decision making); and (3) determine the causes and solutions to
technical problems (trouble shooting).
Our aim is to analyze sequencing results with both standard techniques and new
technologies (such as porous combs, 96-well upgrades, new dyes, and high
throughput capillary-based instruments). The study will analyze the results of
sequencing pGEM-3Zf(+) template sequenced with the M13(-21) or M13(-40) forward
primers. Submissions are restricted to these template and primer combinations,
but there are no restrictions regarding sequencing conditions, protocols and
instrumentation. We encourage submissions of data from instrumentation that
have not been well represented in our past studies, including low throughput
capillary-based instruments. We encourage investigators that have submitted
results to the 1998 study to send additional and more recent results to the
1999 study. Moreover, we encourage investigators that did not submit data to
the 1998 study to participate in the 1999 study.
Instrument and reagent manufacturers are welcome to submit data to the study to
allow analysis of results from the most recent instrumentation and
chemistries. However, data from manufacturers must be clearly identified and
will be analyzed separately from the pool of data submitted anonymously by all
other laboratories.
Newly submitted data will be added on a regular basis throughout the year to
the data already on the web site. An analysis of data submitted through Feb.
5, 1999 will be presented at the ABRF'99 meeting in March of this year.
Please note that the results from the 1998 study are available at
http://www.abrf.org/ABRF/ResearchCommittees/dsrcreports/abrfdna2/dsrc98.htm.
We appreciate your past and future participation in this ongoing study.
The ABRF DNA Sequencing Research Committee:
Pamela Scott Adams, Trudeau Institute, Saranac Lake, NY
Duane Bartley, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (ad hoc)
Mary Kay Dolejsi, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA
George Grills, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY (chair)
Karl Hager, Yale University, New Haven, CT (ad hoc)
Susan Hardin, University of Houston, Houston, TX
Doug McMinimy, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME
Paul Morrison, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA (ad hoc)
John Rush, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
(ad hoc)
Theodore Thannhauser, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
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Please direct questions about participation in this study
to George Grills at grills@aecom.yu.edu