Veterinary medicine’s loss is genetics’ gain. The not-for-profit TIGR is one of the world’s pre-eminent decoders of microbial and plant genomes. It started back in 1992 with an argument. Fraser’s husband, Craig Venter, believed he had a faster method of sequencing the human genome. The National Institutes of Health, where he worked, disagreed. So Venter left. Fraser, working at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, was having her own job angst and went with him. They took over a warehouse in Maryland’s biotech gulch and became TIGR. Their “shotgun” technique, blowing a genome apart and reassembling it with computers, was a success. In three years they finished the genome of the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae.
When Venter left for the genomics company Celera, Fraser took over TIGR. She continued to focus on microbes. “We haven’t won the war on infectious disease,” Fraser says. “Far from it, we’re probably losing.” Many diseases are resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics, but their genomes might reveal new vulnerabilities.
TIGR has also entered the fight against biological weapons. It is sequencing the anthrax sent to a Florida media company in September, looking for “hot spots” in the bacteria’s genome. Genetic differences among samples of anthrax spores might lead investigators to whoever mailed the deadly disease–a kind of “forensic genomics.” Even before the attacks, the institute was working on methods for detection and genetic screening of bacteria that could be used as weapons. “What you’d ideally like is TIGR in a briefcase that you could take into the field,” Fraser says.
The human genome is now largely complete, but that, says Fraser, was merely a race to the starting line. Genetics these days is as much about databases as biochemistry. “Now we’re back to not just firepower carrying the day but opportunities for people with creative thinking about how to use all this information,” Fraser says. To expand her researchers’ thinking, she’s putting together a lecture series at TIGR with speakers from seemingly unrelated fields, like artificial intelligence and nanotechnology. Genes are software for making protein molecules, and nanotechies build microscopic structures molecule by molecule. Fraser hopes both sciences can learn from each other. And if not, there are plenty of chromosomes left in the poodles.
title: “Claire Fraser” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-11” author: “Deborah Edmonds”
Veterinary medicine’s loss is genetics’ gain. The not-for-profit TIGR is one of the world’s pre-eminent decoders of microbial and plant genomes. It published the first one in 1995, a zillion years ago in genetics time. The human genome is largely complete, and genetics is now as much about databases as biochemistry. So Fraser is pointing TIGR’s expertise in new directions, from medicine to bioweapons research. Mapping the human genome, she says, was merely a race to the starting line.
TIGR started with an argument. Fraser’s husband, Craig Venter, believed he had a faster method of sequencing the human genome. The National Institutes of Health, where he worked, disagreed. So Venter split. Fraser, working at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, was having her own job angst and went with him. In 1992 they took over a warehouse in Maryland’s biotech corridor and became TIGR. Their “shotgun” technique, blowing a genome apart and reassembling it with computers, was a success. In three years they finished the genome of the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae.
When Venter left for the genomics company Celera, Fraser took over TIGR. She continued to focus on microbes. “We haven’t won the war on infectious disease,” Fraser says. “Far from it, we’re probably losing.” Many diseases are resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics, but their genomes might reveal new vulnerabilities. Viral genomes can often reveal potential vaccine targets.
TIGR has also entered the fight against biological weapons. It is sequencing the anthrax sent to a Florida media company in September, looking for “hot spots” in the bacteria’s genome. Genetic differences among samples of anthrax spores might lead investigators to whoever mailed the deadly disease–a kind of “forensic genomics.” Even before the attacks, the institute was working on methods for detection and genetic screening of bacteria that could be used as weapons. “What you’d ideally like is TIGR in a briefcase that you could take into the field,” Fraser says.
Genomics after the human genome happens in computers more than in laboratories. “Now we’re back to not just firepower carrying the day but opportunities for people with creative thinking about how to use all this information,” Fraser says. “Sequencing Haemophilus was a real revelation… I’d like to think that’s not the last breakthrough in genomics.” To expand her researchers’ thinking, she’s putting together a lecture series at TIGR with speakers from seemingly unrelated fields of science, like artificial intelligence and nanotechnology. Genes are software for the construction of protein molecules, and nanotechies want to build microscopic structures molecule by molecule. So Fraser hopes both sciences can learn from each other. And if not, there are plenty of chromosomes left in the poodles.
