[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 19, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7443-7445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4015]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Research
Energy Research Financial Assistance Program Notice 97-10;
Microbial Genome Program
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice inviting grant applications.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER) of the
Office of Energy Research, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), hereby
announces its interest in receiving applications for grants in support
of the Microbial Genome Program (MGP). The MGP focus is on developing
and using high-throughput microbial genome sequencing that will provide
functional genomic sequence and mapping information on microorganisms:
with environmental or energy relevance; of phylogenetic significance;
and of potential commercial importance and application. Bioinformatics
tools relating to complete genomic sequences are also of importance to
the MGP.
DATES: Preapplications referencing Program Notice 97-10 should be
received by March 24, 1997. Formal applications in response to this
notice should be received by 4:30 p.m., E.D.T., June 9, 1997, to be
accepted for merit review and funding in early FY 1998.
ADDRESSES: Preapplications referencing Program Notice 97-10 should be
sent to Dr. Marvin E. Frazier, Office of Health and Environmental
Research, ER-72, Office of Energy Research, U.S. Department of Energy,
19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290; e-mail is acceptable
for submitting preapplications using the following address:
lana.ahalt@oer.doe.gov. Formal applications referencing Program Notice
97-10 should be forwarded to: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of
Energy Research, Grants and Contracts Division, ER-64, 19901 Germantown
Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290, ATTN: Program Notice 97-10. This
address must be used when submitting applications by U.S. Postal
Service Express Mail or any commercial mail delivery service, or when
hand-carried by the applicant.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Marvin E. Frazier, ER-72, Office
of Health and Environmental Research, Office of Energy Research, U.S.
Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290,
telephone: (301) 903-5468, e-mail: lana.ahalt@oer.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Molecular biological research on
industrially important microorganisms and on microorganisms that live
in extreme environments (including the deep subsurface, geothermal
environments, hypersaline environments, frozen environments, and toxic
waste sites) is a developing area of great scientific promise that will
impact many DOE missions, other federal agency missions, and U.S.
industry. The Microbial Genome Program supports key DOE business areas
by providing microbial
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DNA sequence information that will further the understanding and
application of microbial biology relating to energy production,
chemical and materials production, and environmental cleanup. The
exploration of microbial genomic sequence diversity is a natural
outgrowth of past and current Biological and Environmental Research
(BER) Programs, including chromosome mapping and DNA sequencing from
the Human Genome Program, structural biology studies utilizing BER-
supported facilities and synchrotrons located at DOE laboratories, and
molecular microbiological research supported by BER environmental
programs. The MGP benefits directly from capabilities at DOE national
laboratories, DOE and National Institutes of Health Human Genome
Centers, the DOE and NIH Genome Data Base (GDB), and university
capabilities, including the DOE-sponsored Subsurface Microbial Culture
Collection and the DOE Genome Sequence Data Base (GSDB). The MGP
represents a considerable interdisciplinary effort and will contribute
to and draw from a wide variety of public and private programs.
Applications are being sought in three complementary areas: genomic
sequencing, functional analysis, and bioinformatics. Each application
must clearly state which area is being addressed; if an applicant
wishes to address more than one area, the application must clearly
describe the expected advantages of an integrated approach.
1. Genomic Sequencing.
The DOE intends to continue its support of one or two laboratories
that will completely sequence carefully selected microbial genomes.
Applicants must demonstrate that they can apply the most recent, high-
throughput technology cost-effectively to the production of sequence
data and show that they can adequately and efficiently accumulate,
store and disseminate those data for future interpretation and
application. A commitment to and a plan for making the sequence data
publicly available by deposition into an accessible sequence database
(GenBank and GSDB) within three months of data acquisition and
annotation must be included in the Project Description. Preference will
be given to those applicants that demonstrate well developed plans for
selecting candidates for DNA sequencing. Candidate microorganisms may
include, but are not limited to, bacteria and archaea that mediate or
catalyze metabolic events of energy or environmental importance. Strict
pathogens or parasites will not be considered. Applicants are
encouraged to create process- and cost-effective partnerships that will
maximize sequence data production and analysis, data dissemination, and
progress towards understanding basic biological mechanisms that can
further the development of biotechnology. It is anticipated that one or
two major awards will be made to conduct microbial genome sequencing
for a total of $3 to 4 million in FY 1998.
Many microorganisms that are closely related by means of
phylogenetic measures (e.g., 16S rRNA comparisons) display dramatic
differences in phenotypic characteristics. Such differences can be
chromosomal in origin, or they can be due to extrachromosomal genetic
elements. DOE is interested in technologies that could exploit the
completed sequence of one microorganism to efficiently determine the
sequence of a related taxon, without resequencing the entire genome of
the related organism de novo. New technologies up to the proof-of-
principle stage are eligible for support, and it is estimated that
between two and four awards for a total of $500,000 to $1 million could
be available in FY 1998.
2. Functional Analysis
It is presently difficult, and in many instances impossible, to
predict biological function from genomic sequence data. Better methods
are needed to identify open reading frames and predict their function.
This is especially true for environmental isolates and for
environmental microorganisms that cannot yet be cultured. Accordingly,
applications are requested that will address these and related needs in
the area of predicting biological function. It is estimated that
between two and four awards for a total of $1 to $2 million could be
available for this area in FY 1998.
3. Bioinformatics
It is estimated that by June, 1997, completed genomic sequences of
five or six archaea and bacteria (Mycoplasma genitalium, Methanococcus
jannaschii, Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum, Archaeoglobus
fulgidus, Pyrococcus furiosus, and Aquifex sp. strain VF5) will be
publicly available, as a direct result of DOE Microbial Genome Program
funding. In addition, completed sequences for Haemophilus influenzae,
Saccharomyces cerevisae, and Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803 are also
now publicly available, and by June, 1997, Escherichia coli,
Helicobacter pylori, and Borrelia burgdorferii genomic sequences should
also be publicly available (all funded by other sources). This
unprecedented explosion of genetic information, along with the
anticipated increase in other genomic sequence data that will occur
over the next year, has underscored the need for better approaches and
tools for comparing and analyzing this rapidly increasing volume of
data. Accordingly, applications are requested that will propose ways in
which data from all databases can be accessed, analyzed, compared,
updated, verified, and annotated. It is anticipated that between two
and four awards for a total of $1 to $2 million could be available for
this area in FY 1998.
Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a brief
preapplication that consists of two to three pages of narrative
describing the research objectives and method of accomplishment.
Preapplications will be reviewed relative to the scope and research
needs of the BER Microbial Genome Program, as outlined in the summary
paragraph and in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. Principal investigator
telephone number, FAX number, and e-mail address are required as part
of the preapplication. A response to each preapplication discussing the
potential programmatic relevance of a formal application will be
communicated to the Principal Investigator within 14 to 21 days of
receipt.
It is anticipated that approximately $7 million will be available
for all MGP awards, five to ten awards are anticipated, contingent on
availability of appropriated funds in FY 1998. Multiple year funding is
expected, also contingent on availability of funds and progress of the
research. Previous awards have ranged from $200,000 to $2 million per
year with terms of one to three years.
Applications will be subjected to formal merit review (peer review)
and will be evaluated against the following evaluation criteria which
are listed in descending order of importance codified at 10 CFR
605.10(d):
1. Scientific and/or Technical Merit of the Project;
2. Appropriateness of the Proposed Method or Approach;
3. Competency of Applicant's personnel and Adequacy of Proposed
Resources;
4. Reasonableness and Appropriateness of the Proposed Budget.
The evaluation will include program policy factors such as the
relevance of the proposed research to the terms of the announcement and
an agency's
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programmatic needs. Note, external peer reviewers are selected with
regard to both their scientific expertise and the absence of conflict-
of-interest issues. Non-federal reviewers will often be used, and
submission of an application constitutes agreement that this is
acceptable to the investigator(s) and the submitting institution.
The Office of Energy Research (ER), as part of its grant
regulations, requires at 10 CFR 605.11(b) that a grantee funded by ER
and performing research involving recombinant DNA molecules shall
comply with the National Institutes of Health ``Guidelines for Research
Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules'' (51 FR 16958, May 7, 1986), or
such later guidelines as may be published in the Federal Register. The
Project Description must be 30 pages or less, exclusive of attachments.
It must contain an abstract or project summary, letters of intent from
collaborators, and short curriculum vitaes consistent with NIH
guidelines.
To provide a consistent format for the submission, review and
solicitation of grant applications submitted under this notice, the
preparation and submission of grant applications must follow the
guidelines given in the Application Guide for the Office of Energy
Research Financial Assistance Program 10 CFR Part 605. Access to ER's
Financial Assistance Application Guide is possible via the World Wide
Web at: http://www.er.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html.
Other useful web sites include:
MGP Home Page--http://www.er.doe.gov/production/oher/EPR/mig__top.html
GenBank Home Page--http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
GSDB Home Page--http://www.ncgr.org/gsdb/
Human Genome Home Page--http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for this
program is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10
CFR Part 605.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 12, 1997.
John Rodney Clark,
Associate Director for Resource Management, Office of Energy Research.
[FR Doc. 97-4015 Filed 2-18-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
