Zebrafish Finishing

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an ideal model organism for studying development and gene function in vertebrates, due to its small physical size, large clutches, transparent embryos, and ease of genetic and experimental manipulation. Sequencing of the complete zebrafish genome is ongoing at the Sanger Institute using a combined clone and whole genome shotgun strategy. The genome is expected to be complete by the end of 2005.

Funded by the NIH Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science (CEGS) initiative, the Stanford Genome Evolution Center is attempting to address two fundamental questions: What do our genes do and where did we come from? Recent progress in genome sequencing has identified a large number of genes and demonstrated that duplicate genes and chromosomal segments are a general feature of vertebrate genomes. Little is known of the origins of duplicate genes and the mechanisms that drive their functional divergence. We are studying the molecular basis of vertebrate diversity by using two fish model systems, the zebrafish and the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).

To identify duplicate genes and identify the sequence differences that distinguish duplicates, we are generating finished sequence for zebrafish BACs known to contain duplicate genes. These data should provide insight into the mechanisms that diversify gene function in vertebrates.