Human DNA Contamination Seen in Genome Databases.

GENOMICS; DATABASES; XENOPUS; O'NEILL, Michael

Nearly 20 percent of the nonhuman genomes held in computer databases are contaminated with human DNA, presumably from the researchers who prepared the samples, say scientists who chanced upon the finding while looking for a human virus. The affected species include crop plants and the model organisms used in many research laboratories, like the C. elegans roundworm and the Xenopus frog, say three researchers at the University of Connecticut, Mark S. Longo, Michael O'Neill and Rachel O'Neill. Their report was published Wednesday in the journal PLoS One. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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