Cambridge Reference Sequence
The Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS) for human mitochondrial DNA was first published in 1981[1] leading to the initiation of the human genome project.
A group under Dr. Fred Sanger at Cambridge University sequenced the mitochondrial genome of one individual of European descent during the 1970s, determining it to have a length of 16,569 base pairs (0.0006% of the total human genome) containing some 37 genes.
When other researchers repeated the sequencing, some striking discrepancies were noted. The original published sequence included eleven errors, including one extra base pair in position 3107, and incorrect assignments of single base pairs. Some of these were the result of contamination with bovine and HeLa specimens. The corrected revised CRS was published by Andrews et al. in 1999.[2] (The original nucleotide numbering was retained to avoid confusion.) The reference sequence belongs to European haplogroup H2a2a. The revised CRS is designated as rCRS.
When mitochondrial DNA sequencing is used for genealogical purposes, the results are usually reported as differences from the revised CRS. The CRS is a reference sequence rather than a record of the earliest human mtDNA. A difference between a tested sample and the CRS may have arisen in the lineage of the CRS or in the lineage of the tested sample.
References
- ^ Anderson S, Bankier AT, Barrell BG, de Bruijn MH, Coulson AR, Drouin J, Eperon IC, Nierlich DP, Roe BA, Sanger F, Schreier PH, Smith AJ, Staden R, Young IG (1981). "Sequence and organization of the human mitochondrial genome". Nature. 290 (5806): 457–465. doi:10.1038/290457a0. PMID 7219534.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Andrews RM, Kubacka I, Chinnery PF, Lightowlers RN, Turnbull DM, Howell N (1999). "Reanalysis and revision of the Cambridge reference sequence for human mitochondrial DNA". Nat Genet. 23 (2): 147. doi:10.1038/13779. PMID 10508508.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)