Functional Elements

ENCODE Pilot Project launched by NHGRI to identify functional elements in 1% (30 Mb) of the human genome. 35 research groups across 80 institutions used multiple experimental and computational approaches to annotate genes, regulatory elements, and chromatin features.

Landmark ENCODE pilot results demonstrating that the majority of the human genome is biochemically functional, with pervasive transcription, abundant regulatory elements, and complex chromatin landscapes. Challenged the traditional view of 'junk DNA' and established ENCODE as a foundational genomics resource.