The Soybean EST Project History and Organization

Soybean EST Project History and Organization

The Soybean EST project was developed subsequent to several meetings held in Des Moines, IA, St. Louis, MO, and Washington D.C. with representatives of commodity groups, public and private scientists, and producers/growers. During these meetings the format of the project was established, initial library priorities and considerations were addressed, industrial and public interactions were discussed in depth, and the need for a standing Advisory Committee was emphasized. Many of the participants of the initial meetings are represented on this Committee. Each member of the Committee offers expertise, experience and unique perspectives on the needs of the soybean (legume) community or issues of technology and science.

SOYBEAN EST PROJECT PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS

Randy C. Shoemaker USDA-ARS, Research Geneticist	Department of Agronomy Iowa State University	rcsshoe@iastate.edu
Paul S. Keim The E. Raymond and Ruth Reed Cowden Endowed Chair of Microbiology	Department of Biology Northern Arizona University	keim@nauvax.ucc.nau.edu
Lila Vodkin Professor	Department of Crop Science University of Illinois	l-vodkin@uiuc.edu
Robert Waterston, Director Marco Marra, Co-Director	Washington University School of Medicine Genome Sequencing Center St. Louis, MO	mmarra@alu.wustl.edu
David Smoller President	Incyte Genomics, Inc. St. Louis, MO	dsmoller@stl.incyte.com
Ernest Retzel Director	Academic Computing and Bioinformatics University of Minnesota	ernest@lenti.med.umn.edu

cDNA libraries will be prepared by post-doctoral researchers, technicians and undergraduates in the laboratories of Shoemaker, Vodkin and Keim. Incyte Genomics, Inc. (Smoller) will be responsible for colony plating, robotically picking and arraying of colonies in dishes. Smoller will also be responsible for assigning identifications to each clone and ensuring that they are replicated, maintained and distributed. (This role will be carried out by part-time dedication of an experienced technologist.) Washington University will be responsible for sequencing, annotating sequences, sizing of clone, and depositing of sequence information into a public database. (This role will be carried out by experienced programmers and technologists already on-site.) Retzel will be responsible for ensuring that computer programs are available to make the data to be generated maximally useful. (This will require one dedicated programmer.)

SOYBEAN EST PROJECT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Robert Bolla	Professor, St. Louis University
Dwayne Buxton	USDA-ARS-NPL, Beltsville
Joesph Byrum	Genomics Project Leader, Monsanto/Asgrow
Frans De Bruijn	Professor, Michigan State University, DOE Plant Research Laboratory
Perry Cregan	USDA-ARS, Beltsville
Halina Knapp	Professor, Clemson University
Michael May	Production Project Administrator, United Soybean Board
Niels Nielsen	USDA-ARS, Adjunct Professor, Purdue University
Keith Smith	Commodity Board Advisor, Keith Smith And Associates
Chris Somerville	Director, Carnegie Institute, Stanford University
Shauna Somerville	Professor, Carnegie Institute, Stanford University
James Specht	Professor, University Of Nebraska
David Webb	Project Leader, Pioneer Hi-Bred International
Desh Pal Verma	Professor, Ohio State University

SOYBEAN EST PROJECT COOPERATORS

Public participation is encouraged in this Project. Many cooperators have already provided RNA, tissues or seed of special-interest materials for which they have unique expertise.

Tara Van Toai, USDA-ARS Ohio State University	RNA AND cDNA	flooding tolerance
Robert Bolla St. Louis University	cDNA	soybean cyst
Halina Knapp Clemson University	RNA AND cDNA	fasciated plants
James Specht University Of Nebraska	seed	mutant isolines
Gary Stacey University Of Tennessee	tissue	supernodulating plants

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