Acquisition of Equipment for Automated DNA Sequencing

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With partial National Science Foundation support, the University of Utah will purchase an ABI 3377 automated DNA sequencer, an Perkin-Elmer 9600 PCR machine and a Sun SPARCstatioon 20. This equipment will be shared by four evolutionary geneticists. Acquisition of this equipment will greatly increase the speed and fidelity of DNA sequencing and nuclear genotyping and enable the scientists to remain at the cutting edge of human evolutionary genetic research. Initially, the equipment will be used in at least 13 major research projects. These include research on the evolutionary genetics of south Indian caste populations, Micronesian populations, the Altai Siberian population, Native American populations and African and African-American populations. To provide a long-term temporal perspective, ancient DNA samples from the U.S. Southwest, the Great Basin region, North China, the circum-Arctic, and Austro-Hungary will be analyzed. The role of founder effect in the evolution of von Willebrand disease will be investigated. Mutation rates in mitochondrial DNA will be measured by comparing large-scale sequencing results with `DNA chip` technology. Worldwide genetic variation will be analyzed to test hypotheses regarding the origins of modern Homo sapiens. In addition to aiding in research, this equipment will help students and postdoctoral fellows to learn the most modern molecular methods in the course of their training in evolutionary genetics. Each of the researchers' laboratories has a number of students and fellows.