Are Sequencers Ready to 'Annotate' the Human Genome?

摘要

Imagine trying to put together a car engine when all you have is a parts list by numbers, no name or description. That's about how the rough draft of a genome looks to a biologist. To be useful, a genome must be annotated—that is, documented to provide at a minimum the putative start, stop, and structure of each gene. Biologists benefit more if information is included about the predicted gene's product and about similarities to other known or predicted genes and proteins. Only then can a researcher begin to piece together how genes and proteins interact to make life possible.