Three DNA sequencing companies have joined an international research consortium called 1000 Genomes, aimed at creating a new map of the human genome that will provide a view of biomedically relevant DNA variations at a resolution unmatched by current resources. These biotech companies are 454 Life Sciences, Applied Biosystems, and Illumina Inc.

"The additional sequencing capacity and expertise provided by the three companies in the pilot phase will enable us to explore the human genome with even greater depth and speed than we had originally envisioned, and will help us to optimize the design of the full study to follow," said Richard Durbin, Ph.D., of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, who is co-chair of the consortium. "It is a win-win arrangement for all involved. The companies will gain an exciting opportunity to test their technologies on hundreds of samples of human DNA, and the project will obtain data and insight to achieve its goals in a more efficient and cost-effective manner than we could without their help."

More about the 1000 Genome project from the National Human Genome Research Institute.