GENOME INDIA PROJECT

1. Context 

2. About Genome Sequencing

• The human genome is the entire set of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) residing in the nucleus of every cell of the human body.
• It carries the complete genetic information responsible for the development and functioning of an organism.
• The DNA consists of a double-stranded molecule built up by four bases.
• While the sequence of base pairs is identical in all humans, there are differences in the genome of every human being that make them unique.
• The process of deciphering the order of base pairs, to decode the genetic fingerprint of a human is called genome sequencing.
• In 1990, a group of scientists began to work on determining the whole sequence of the human genome under the Human Genome Project.
• The Project released its latest version of the complete human genome in 2023, with a 0.3 per cent error margin.
• This shows that genomic sequencing has now evolved to a stage where large sequencers can process thousands of samples simultaneously.
• There are several approaches to genome sequencing, including whole genome sequencing.
• The process of whole genome sequencing, made possible by the Human Genome Project, now facilitates the reading of a person's genome to identify differences from the average human genome.

3. Applications of sequencing

• Genome sequencing has been used to evaluate rare disorders, preconditions for disorders and even cancer from the viewpoint of genetics, rather than as diseases of certain organs.
• Nearly 10, 000 diseases including cystic fibrosis and thalassemia are known to be the result of a single gene malfunctioning.
• In public health, however, sequencing has been used to read the codes of viruses.
• One of its first practical usages was in 2014 when a group of scientists from M.I.T and Harvard sequenced samples of Ebola from infected African patients to show how genomic data of viruses could reveal hidden pathways of transmission.

4. Effective response against COVID-19

• In January 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Chinese scientist YongZhen Zhang sequenced the genome of a novel pathogen causing infections in the city of Wuhan.
• Mr Zhang then shared it with his virologist friend Edward Holmes in Australia, who published the genomic code online.
• It was after this that virologists began evaluating the sequence to try and understand how to combat the virus, track the mutating variants and their intensity and spread and come up with a vaccine.
• To enable an effective response against COVID-19, researchers kept track of emerging variants, conducting further studies about their transmissibility, immune escape and potential to cause severe disease.
• Genomic sequencing became one of the first steps in this important process.
• Here, the purpose of genome sequencing was to understand the role of certain mutations in increasing the virus's infectivity.
• India also put in place a sequencing framework the Indian SARSCOV2 Genomics Consortia (INSACOG).
• This consortium of labs across the country was tasked with scanning coronavirus samples from patents and flagging the presence of variants known to have spiked transmission internationally.
• As of early December 2021, INSACOG had sequenced about 1, 00, 000 samples.

5. About Genome India Project

• India's 1.3 billion strong population consists of over 4, 600 population groups, many of which are endogamous.
• Thus, the Indian population harbours distinct variations, with disease-causing mutations often amplified within some of these groups.
• But despite being a large population with diverse ethnic groups, India lacks a comprehensive catalogue of genetic variations.
• Creating a database of Indian genomes allows researchers to learn about genetic variants unique to India's population groups and use that to customise drugs.
• About 20 institutions across India are involved in the Project.