CEA DSV – IG
The Genomics Institute unites French research efforts in genomics. Thanks to sequencing capabilities at their disposal and their expertise in genome analysis, teams from the IG explore biodiversity and decipher the human genome to understand human diseases. Researchers from the IG also analyze genomes to propose methods of energy-efficient synthesis (biocatalysis, synthetic biology, etc.) to industry.
Genoscope, the French National Sequencing Center, was created in 1996 to fulfil the following missions:
- To ensure the participation of France in the Human Genome Project and more generally, to participate in the effort of the developed nations to produce sequence data of general interest with free public access.
- To respond to the large-scale sequencing needs of the national academic community.
- To maintain state-of-the art expertise in the domain of sequencing and sequence analysis.
In these very large international projects Genoscope has been able to contribute in an original manner, and was the first to propose that the human genome contained 30,000 genes or less. Genoscope has participated in international consortiums in the domain of plant genomes and research here has also revealed major events in the evolution of eukaryotic genomes (vertebrates, ciliates, plants).
Since its establishment 10 years ago, the annual sequencing volume has been multiplied by 40 and the costs divided by 30.
Recently, Genoscope has reoriented its scientific objectives in the direction of exploitation of sequence data.
Genoscope’s initial missions are still current. However, the Human Genome Project has progressed to an exploitation phase which is being developed at the CNG (National Genotyping Center). We have wished to enlarge the field of analysis of sequence data in extending the analysis to the experimental identification of biological functions.