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The Yanhuang Project
Beijing Genomics Institute Sequences Fourth Human Genome in the World
Results of HapMap project showed that the three major populations (African, Caucasian and Asian) have very distinct haplotype structures. We Chinese people have our own genetic background, disease susceptibilities and drug response, which differ dramatically with other populations. For instance, Caucasians are reported to suffer more from skin cancer while Chinese suffer more from liver cancer. In this project we are sequencing 100 Chinese genomes to construct a high-resolution Chinese genetic polymorphism map, which will promote medical researches in Chinese and Asian population.
The first Asian genome sequence released by BGI-Shenzhen with a publication in Nature on 6 Nov 2008 announced the completion of the reference genome for the Yanhuang project. This is the third human individual genome sequenced right after the father of DNA James Watson and the sequencing pioneer J. Craig Venter. Database of this first Asian genome was also constructed for individual genome data sharing and management.