Common use of Background and Significance Clause in Contracts

Background and Significance. The human genome comprises three billion base pairs of DNA. In order to sequence the entire genome, a phased approach has been implemented by the NIH and DOE. The first requirement is the production of a conceptual array of large contiguous DNA sequences (large insert clones) spanning the 23 chromosomes. These "physical maps" must accurately represent the human genome and be in a form amenable to DNA sequencing. To make these physical maps amenable to sequencing, the individual large-insert clones will be further sub-divided into templates (either physically by subcloning or by primer walking) for direct DNA sequencing. Once the precise sequence of these templates is determined (by Sanger sequencing and fluorescent detection) they will be "assembled" into accurate ("finished" sequence) virtual representations of the original large-insert clones. The sequences of these large-insert clones are then assembled to form the full finished sequence of the human genome.