title: "Beijing Region" (3pter-D3S3397) of the human genome: complete sequence and analysis.
abstract: The goal of the Human Genome Project (HGP) is to determine a complete and high-quality sequence of the human genome. China, as one of the six member states, takes a region between 3pter and D3S3397 of the human chromosome 3 as its share of this historic project, referred as "Beijing Region". The complete sequence of this region comprises of 17.4 megabasepairs (Mb) with an average GC content of 42% and an average recombination rate of 2.14 cM/Mb. Within Beijing Region, 122 known and 20 novel genes are identified, as well as 42607 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Comprehensive analyses also reveal: (i) gene density and GC-content of Beijing Region are in agreement with human cytogenetic maps, i.e. G-minus bands are GC-rich and of a high gene density, whereas G-plus bands are GC-poor and of a relatively low gene density; (ii) the average recombination rate within Beijing Region is relatively high compared with other regions of chromosome 3, with the highest recombination rate of 6.06 cM/Mb in the subtelomeric area; (iii) it is most likely that a large gene, associated with the mammary gland, may reside in the 1.1 Mb gene-poor area near the telomere; (iv) many disease-related genes are genetically mapped to Beijing Region, including those associated with cancers and metabolic syndromes. All make Beijing Region an important target for in-depth molecular investigations with a purpose of medical applications.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002893:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 3 / Q000235:genetics*; D018899:CpG Islands; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D020161:Physical Chromosome Mapping; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA