In addition, we are interested in extending the genomic sequence into repeat-rich heterochromatic regions of the Drosophila genome near the centromeres and telomeres. This work is a collaborative effort with Gary Karpen (Salk Institute) and Allan Spradling (Carnegie Institute of Washington).

The annotation of the coding portion of the genome is greatly improved by aligning full-length cDNA sequence. Over the next two years we hope to identify and generate full-length sequence for greater than 13,000 genes in the Drosophila genome. The non-coding portion of the genome contains the regulatory elements required for proper temporal and spatial expression of the genes. We are particularly interested in identifying functional non-coding cis-regulatory elements of the genes controlling Drosophila development using comparative sequence analysis of Drosophila sibling species.