At the JGI--or Joint Genome Institute--I had the opportunity to experience one of the largest dedicated DNA sequencing operations in the world. Basically, I got to see firsthand the machinery and technology involved in the process called whole-genome shotgun sequencing, whereby the order of bases in an organism's genome is determined. One of the tour guides, before the tour, gave us an animated illustration of this process. In this genome-determining-process, DNA from the organism to be sequenced is broken up into pieces about 2,000 to 4,000 bases long through a process called shearing.…
