Genome India Project
The Ministry of Science and Technology has approved an ambitious gene-mapping project called the Genome India Project (GIP).
Introduction
· Aim of GIP: To build a grid of the Indian “reference genome”, to understand fully the type and nature of diseases and traits that comprise the diverse Indian population.
· Funded by: Department of Biotechnology
· Nodal agency: The IISc’s Centre for Brain Research, an autonomous institute, will serve as the nodal point of the project and its director will be the coordinator.
· Research Methodology
1. Investigators in hospitals will lead the data collection through a simple blood test from participants and the information will be added to bio banks.
2. Every person whose genomes are sequenced would be given a report.
3. The participants would be informed if they carry gene variants that make them less responsive to certain classes of medicines.
4. The information will then be processed using mathematical models developed by IITs to generate results and arrive at definite conclusions on the project.
Background
· IndiGen initiative
1. The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) has conducted Whole Genome Sequencing of 1,008 Indians from different populations across the country under the IndiGen Genome project.
2. The IndiGen initiative was undertaken by CSIR in April 2019, which was implemented by the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi and CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad.
3. The objective was to enable genetic epidemiology and develop public health technologies applications using population genome data.
What is Genome and genome sequencing?
1. Genome: A genome is defined as an organism’s complete set of Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA), including all of its genes.
2. Each genome contains all of the information needed to build and maintain that organism
3. Every human cell contains a pair of chromosomes, each of which has three billion base pairs or one of four molecules that pair in precise ways
4. Sequencing a genome means deciphering the exact order of base pairs in an individual.
5. It has been known that the portion of the genes responsible for making proteins called the exome occupies about 1% of the actual gene.
6. The genome has to be mapped in its entirety to know which genes of a person’s DNA are “mutated”.
Genome sequencing projects over the world
· Genomics England: The UK was the first country to launch a program called Genomics England which aims to sequence up to 100,000 whole genomes from patients with rare diseases, their families, and cancer patients.
· Estonia: Estonian Genome Project Foundation had collected data from 52,000 adult donors by February 2014 and in March, 2019 has offered a further 100,000 people free genetic testing.
· France: France, in 2016, announced the “France Médecine Génomique 2025” program which aims to open 12 sequencing centres and ensure 235,000 whole genome sequencing (WGS) a year which can be used as diagnostics tool.
Potential benefits of Genome India Project
· Precision medicines: Results of the project can be used to develop precision medicines to treat diseases for which no specific treatment is available right now.
· In Agriculture: Genome mapping could be used to treat crops affected with pests, insects and rodents so that sustainable agriculture can be promoted.
· Understanding genetic diversity: Outcomes from the project will provide scientists with a great volume of data which will be helpful to understand the genetic diversity of human genes.
· Rare genetic diseases: Genome maps have been used to find out genes that are responsible for relatively rare, single-gene inherited disorders such as cystic fibrosis and Duchene muscular dystrophy.
Issues with genome sequencing
· Synthetic human genome: Synthetic human genome could be created which will be against the law of nature and can prove disastrous for the entire mankind.
· Privacy concern: Genome data can be used by government agencies for various purposes and is no less than state surveillance.
· Social and ethical issue: Scientific studies of genes and classifying them could reinforce stereotypes and allow for politics to take up a racial turn which is detrimental to security and integrity of the country.
· Selective breading: Selective breeding is a major concern related with genome mapping which involves breeding of babies as per the requirement of parents by doing suitable tweaks in the genome of parents.
Way ahead
· Data privacy law: India need to bring a strict data privacy law to ensure that the sensitive data from GIP does not go into wrong hands and privacy of individuals is maintained.
· Ownership and control of data: Who owns and controls the data arising out of the GIP should be clearly defined so as to fix the responsibility for any breach of privacy.
· Punitive measures to preserve medical ethics
1. Banning synthesis of human genome in laboratory
2. Imposing ban on selective breeding
3. Restricting gene mapping and modification only to government authorized or public sector health agencies.
Sources: The Hindu, Indian Express, PIB, RSTV, Down to Earth