Beijing Genomics Institute's (BGI's) Shenzhen branch made a splash this month with the announcement that it had sequenced the first complete genome of a Chinese individual, the third personal genome sequenced this year, after those of J. Craig Venter and James Watson. Now the new kid on the genome block is offering its service to any Chinese who can plop down $1.3 million.
BGI Shenzhen, also known as Shenzhen Huada, was incorporated last April as a nonprofit research organization funded primarily by local governments. The institute plans to sequence 99 more Chinese genomes as part of a 100-person project to map DNA polymorphisms in the Chinese population. To help finance the endeavor, Shenzhen Huada is offering wealthy Chinese the opportunity to have their own genome completely sequenced and analyzed. Forty percent of the income will go to a foundation to support Shenzhen Huada's health-related genomic research, including a plan to sequence 10,000 genomes of the dominant Han and ethnic minority Chinese as well as other East Asians, says BGI Director Yang Huanming. Another project sequencing the panda genome is already under way.
