[Coral-List] Sequencing of Porites Genome

[craigdowns]

Dear Coral List Server Members,

The sequence of a coral genome would provide a tremendous foundation for
coral scientific research, as well as provide a basis for technology
development that could benefit coral-reef resource management.  Dr. Gary
Ostrander (Johns Hopkins University) is leading an effort towards the
goal of sequencing the genome of Porites lobata.  We are soliciting
letters of support for this endeavor from the coral reef scientific and
management community.  Once the genome is sequenced, the work will be
published in a peer-reviewed journal and the entire genome will be made
freely accessible to the public.

We have chosen Porites lobata because of its rising importance as a
'laboratory rat' in coral ecotoxicology, coral cell biology, coral
immunity and coral neurophysiology.  We have also chosen this species
because of its extensive distribution in the Indian and Pacific Oceans,
the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf.  Another important advantage of
Porites over other species, such as Acroporids or Montastrea spp, is
that Porites lacks some of the various biochemical interfering
substances present in many coral families; substances that makes it very
difficult to near impossible to apply molecular and biochemical
techniques without significant artifact.  Finally, Porites lobata and
Porites asteroides show high similarity for many of their enzymes and
genes.  It should be easy to adapt technologies that would utilize the
gene sequence information of Porites lobata (such as PCR, gene array,
ELISAs, Real-time PCR, immuno-histology) to Porites asteroides. 

Attached to this email is a letter explaining this project in more
detail, as well as guidelines for a letter of support.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Gary
(gofish at jhu.edu) or I.

Sincerely,

Craig
 

Craig A. Downs
President
EnVirtue Biotechnologies, Inc.
35 W. Piccadilly Street
Winchester, Virginia 22601   U.S.A.

Phone: 540-723-0597
Fax: 540-723-0598
www.envirtue.com

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