The Foundation's Microbial Genome Sequencing Project was launched in April 2004. The Foundation was encouraged by scientists to increase the number of genome sequences of ecologically relevant microorganisms. A committee of preeminent marine microbiologists selected 155 candidates for sequencing (well over 200 microorganisms were nominated) based on five selection criteria:
Open ocean and coastal bacterioplankton isolates from cultured marine clades abundant in ribosomal RNA surveys
Open ocean and coastal bacterioplankton isolates (or BAC clones) most closely related to uncultured marine clades abundant in ribosomal RNA surveys
Open ocean and coastal bacterioplankton isolates for “cluster sequencing” from ecologically relevant marine clades
Bacterioplankton isolates representing broad physiological diversity (photoautotrophs, photoheterotrophs, nitrifiers, methanotrophs, etc.)
Isolates from diverse environments/habitats (greater depths, more extreme temperatures, specialized habitats)
Phase one of the project was initiated in Fall 2004 with a grant to the J. Craig Venter Institute. Auto-annotated genome sequences are deposited in GenBank, the NIH genetic sequence database. For further information, see the J.Craig Venter Institute's Marine Microbial Genome Sequencing Project.
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