DOE Joint Genome Institute releases enhanced genome analysis system

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — An enhanced version of the Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) data management system has been released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI). IMG 1.1 contains 32 new public genomes and 14 new genomes sequenced by DOE JGI, bringing the total number of genomes in IMG to 337. These include 301 bacterial, 25 archaeal, and 11 eukaryotic genomes, of which 36 finished and 75 draft genomes were sequenced by DOE JGI.

The new IMG 1.1 features enhanced capabilities to improve the efficiency of the genome analysis process. To extend the utility of the organism and gene analysis tools, several new features have been added. These include a function to compare gene occurrence profiles across organisms, an enhanced support infrastructure for comparative organism statistics, and the ability to save and load organism and gene analysis settings from local user files. The documentation has been also expanded to ease the overall comprehensibility of IMG analysis.

IMG, accessible to the public at http://img.jgi.doe.gov/ , is the result of a collaboration between the DOE JGI and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Biological Data Management and Technology Center (BDMTC).

The new version of IMG will be demonstrated on June 26, 2005, at the International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology in Detroit, Michigan.

IMG continues to be updated on a quarterly basis with new public and DOE JGI genomes. The next update is scheduled for September 1st, 2005.

The DOE Joint Genome Institute, supported primarily by the Department of Energy Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the DOE Office of Science, is among the world leaders in whole-genome sequencing projects devoted to microbes and microbial communities, model system vertebrates, aquatic organisms, and plants. Established in 1997, JGI now unites the expertise of four national laboratories, Lawrence Livermore, Lawrence Berkeley, Los Alamos, and Oak Ridge, along with the Stanford Human Genome Center to advance the frontiers of genome sequencing and related biology. Additional information can be found at the DOE JGI Website.

Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has a mission to ensure national security and to apply science and technology to the important issues of our time. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.