8WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG NOVEMBER 1, 2010

NEWS OF THE WEEK

THE 1000 GENOMES PROJECT, an international consortium that aims to sequence DNA from thousands of people to identify diff erences among

them, has reported results from its pilot phase ( Nature 2010, 467, 1061). The data will give medical researchers an improved baseline for uncovering genetic causes of disease and studying variation among humans.

In one of the pilot projects, researchers sequenced the entire genomes of 179 people

from various populations. When they analyzed and compared the sequences,

they found more than 15 mil-lion genetic differences, more than half of which had never been seen be-fore, Richard M. Durbin of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, in Hinx-

ton, England, said in a press briefing. Durbin is cochair of the consortium’s steering committee.

The analysis found that each person on average carries between 250 and 300 deleterious mutations that prevent proper function of the genes that contain them. In addi-tion, the average person has between 50 and 100 variants that have been implicated in inherited disorders.

In a second paper, Evan E. Eichler and coworkers at the University of Washington, Seattle, used data from the 1000 Genomes Project to analyze copy-number variations, which are differences in the number of times a particular gene sequence appears in the ge-nome ( Science 2010, 330, 641). About 1,000 genes “have been largely inaccessible to traditional genetic study as a result of their repetitive nature,” Eichler said at the press briefing. Using newly developed sequence analy-sis algorithms and sequence tags, his team investigated copy-number variations in these genes, he said.

Eichler’s team found that copy-number variations occur in fewer than 10% of human genes. Many of these genes map to regions that had been previously identified as highly repetitive and have been implicated in diseases such as schizophrenia and autism, the authors note.

Even at the pilot stage, the 1000 Genomes Project has already provided “a more complete catalog” of hu-man genetic variation than was available previously, Durbin said. The project is already moving forward with its main phase, with the goal of sequencing 2,500 genomes. —CELIA ARNAUD

EASTMAN CHEMICAL has agreed to sell its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin business to DAK Americas, a subsidiary of the Mexican

conglomerate Alfa, for $600 million. The sale includes two PET plants and a facility that

makes the raw material purified terephthalic acid (PTA), all in Columbia, S.C. Eastman put the site up for sale in April after earlier selling off PET plants in Europe and Latin America.

Once one of the world’s largest PET pro-ducers, Eastman enjoyed heady growth in the 1990s and early 2000s as the clear polymer rapidly captured new markets such as those for water bottles and food containers. But the company struggled with the business as it matured. Eastman’s performance polymers division, which is largely the PET business,

lost money in 2008, 2009, and the first half of 2010. Its first-half sales were $416 million.

Alfa, meanwhile, created DAK Americas in 2001 to acquire DuPont’s polyester resins and PTA business. DAK later built PET facilities in North and South Caro-lina and acquired Eastman’s PET plants in Mexico and Argentina. Alfa’s polyester product sales were roughly $1.6 billion in the first half of 2010.

Chase Willett, director of polyester and polyester raw materials at the consulting firm Chemical Market Associates, says the deal will make DAK the U.S.’s PET leader, giving it roughly one-third of the industry’s capacity. The sale will also net Eastman a good price. “Both parties come out looking pretty good,” he says.

The deal will continue the shift of the U.S.’s PET industry to foreign control. In addition to DAK, cur-rent manufacturers in the U.S. include Indonesia’s Indorama, Italy’s Mossi & Ghisolfi, and Taiwan’s Nan Ya Plastics. Another producer, U.S.-based Invista, an-nounced over the summer that it is considering the sale of its PET business.

Both existing players and newcomers have ex-pressed interest in the Invista business, Willett says. But even a purchase by a competitor won’t be enough to return the PET industry to financial health, he cau-tions. “For the industry to improve significantly, there needs to be rationalization of capacity in addition to consolidation,” Willett says. —MICHAEL MCCOY

Eastman opened this PET plant in Columbia, S.C., in 2006.

The 1000 Genomes Project is sequencing DNA from people of diverse origins.

EA

ST

MA

N C

HE

MIC

AL

SH

UT

TE

RS

TO

CK

EASTMAN EXITS POLYESTER BUSINESS

PLASTICS: One-time PET leader will sell unit to DAK Americas

PROBING HUMAN GENETIC VARIATION

GENOME SEQUENCING: Consortium improves catalog

of human DNA differences