Why is the sequencing of proteins an important next step?
Sequencing the human genome is an enabling step toward the next stage — which is understanding all of the proteins. We’re setting up a facility that will be able to sequence a million proteins each day. This project wouldn’t have been feasible — you couldn’t have even considered it — without having the genetic code sequenced and reassembled. What’s really key, what’s really important, though, is the integration of this information. Think of yourself as a construction site. Your genetic code is the master blueprint. This code controls the timing mechanisms that deliver piece X to place Y in exactly the right order at exactly the right time. Proteins are the tools, the bricks, the mortar — all of the building material on the construction site. DNA controls the timing of how those pieces come together. If the pieces arrive on the construction site in the wrong order, chaos erupts, and the building doesn’t get assembled: The steel isn’t supposed to be the last thing that’s delivered.
