Gene Codes Corporation

Gene Codes Corporation is a privately-owned international firm specializing in bioinformatics software for DNA sequence analysis. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Gene Codes conducts business in over 40 countries world wide. Its flagship software product, Sequencher, is widely used by researchers at academic and government labs as well as biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies for DNA sequence assembly [1]. In addition to its commercial business, Gene Codes dedicates an large portion of its talents to humanitarian efforts. Gene Codes developed the software that was used for DNA identification of most of the victims of the 2001 World Trade Center attack. [2]. Additional information about forensic software developed by Gene Codes can be found here [3]

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History

Gene Codes Corporation was founded in 1988 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1991, the DNA sequence assembly and analysis software, Sequencher, was released. In the following years, Sequencher has established a very wide customer base across academic, government, and pharmaceutical laboratories. The latest version, Sequencher 4.8 was released in October 2007.

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Gene Codes dedicated much of their resources to the identification of the victims. This effort resulted in the Mass Fatality Identification SYStem, MFISYS (pronounced “emphasis”). This software records DNA profiles and finds matches in specimen sample profiles. These profiles are generated by sequencing a series of genetic markers including mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), short tandem repeats (STRs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This system was also used to identify those killed in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Gene Codes is currently working with the DNA Shoah Project whose aim is to identify remains of those killed during the holocaust.[4]