The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced a partnership with the Melbourne-based Australian Genome Research Facility Ltd (AGRF) to sequence the DNA of one of Australia's best-known animals, a member of the kangaroo family known as the wallaby.

Comparing the human genome sequence with those of other organisms, such as the roundworm, mouse or kangaroo, enables scientists to identify regions of similarity and difference that can provide clues about the structure and function of genes vital to human health and development. The type of kangaroo chosen for sequencing is the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii), a relatively small member of the kangaroo family found on islands along Australia's southern and western coasts.

Researchers are studying the tammar wallaby to gain insights applicable to human reproduction and development, evolution, anatomy and physiology of mammals, and disease susceptibility. The kangaroo will be the second marsupial to have its genome sequenced; several months ago, NHGRI approved plans to sequence a gray short-tailed, South American opossum (Monodelphis domestica).

"We expect the data generated by the kangaroo genome project will prove to be extremely valuable for medical research, as well as agricultural research, around the globe. In addition, the project is an exciting opportunity for Australian scientists to build relationships with the National Institutes of Health," said John Brumby, who is treasurer of the Australian state of Victoria and part of the Victorian delegation to the BIO2004 conference in San Francisco.

"This scientific collaboration between the United States and Australia represents another important step in our quest to gain a better understanding of the human genome," said NHGRI director Francis S. Collins. "As we build on the success of the Human Genome Project, it has been increasingly clear that one of the best tools for identifying crucial elements in the human genome is to compare it with the genomes of a wide variety of other animals," he added.

AGRF expects to begin sequencing the kangaroo genome in 2004 and complete its part of the effort in approximately two years. The State Government of Victoria, Australia is providing up to $3.2 million (Australian $4.5 million) in support for the project to AGRF, which will sequence the approximately 3 billion DNA letters of the tammar wallaby's genome to one-fold sequence coverage.

NHGRI has chosen the Baylor College of Medicine's Human Genome Sequencing Center in Houston, which is part of NHGRI's Large-Scale Sequencing Research Network, to carry out the US component of the effort. The data will be deposited into free public databases that are easily accessible to researchers worldwide.