Genome project on venomous animals: call for expressions of interest

The International Society on Toxinology has decided to stimulate an international collaboration aimed at sequencing the whole genome of venomous animal(s). The aim is to approach the genetic basis of the remarkable diversity of peptides and proteins in venom glands. This project was proposed and discussed at the business meeting of the IST in Adelaide, during the International Congress on Plant, Animal and Microbial Toxins, on September 18th 2003. There was very strong support for the concept. The general idea is to link the venomous animal genome project to a network of existing sequencing centers throughout the world. As a first step, an international coordinating committee has to be formed. This Executive Genome Project Committee will define the criteria for the choice of the animal(s) to be studied, identify the best policy for making the project feasible, and integrate the sequence data coming from all participating centers, labs, etc. For this purpose, we invite expressions of interest in the project. We welcome all comments and suggestions, and not only from IST members. To give the project momentum we urge you to reply as soon as possible but certainly within a month. We plan to establish the Executive Committee before the end of the year. Please send all your comments by e-mail to Prof. Dietrich Mebs: mebs@em.uni-frankfurt.de Looking forward to hearing from you.