Why Sequence Chlamydomonas by New Methods?
Chlamydomonas is a well studied model organism for which microarray gene expression data and the nuclear genome sequence are available. Still, our knowledge of gene expression is limited, since microarray technology is not ideal for detecting low-abundance mRNAs and small changes in gene expression. Sequencing an organism that has such a set of genomic resources via new methods, specifically 454 and Solexa sequencing, will allow researchers to compare the available approaches for analyzing gene expression. They will then be able to use the most appropriate one to more efficiently evaluate the conditions that favor a particular metabolism in Chlamydomonas, with specific emphasis on those that generate energy-rich products. As a model organism for photosynthetic eukaryotes, it is expected that lessons learned from Chlamydomonas will be applicable to the development of similar pathways in other, more industrially useful algae. The performance of the 454 and Solexa platforms will be compar
