Genome Sequencing & India

Genome Sequencing and the Genome India Project

• According to the Department of Biotechnology, the effort to sequence 10,000 Indian human genomes and develop a database as part of the Centre-backed Genome India Project is around two-thirds complete.

What precisely is the Genome India Project?

• Those working in the Genome India Project have described it as the “first scratching of the surface of India’s vast genetic diversity.”
• It comprises more than 20 scientists from several universities, including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and a few IITs.

Human Genome Project (HGP)

• Description: The HGP was a global research effort aimed at mapping and sequencing the entire human genome.
• Timeframe: The project began in 1990 and was completed in 2003.
• Collaborators: The HGP was a collaborative effort involving scientists from many countries.
• Coordinators: The HGP was coordinated by the Institutes of Health (NIH) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) in the US.
• Achievements: Scientists were able to identify the location of many human genes and provide information about their structure and organization.
• Impact: The HGP has led to the development of new diagnostic tools and therapies for a wide range of genetic disorders and has provided valuable insights into the basic biology of human development and evolution.
• Fields affected: The HGP has had a significant impact on the fields of medicine, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals

What is Genome?

• A genome is all the genetic material in an organism, defined as “an organism’s complete set of DNA, including all of its genes.”
• Information: Each genome contains all of the information needed to build and maintain that organism.
• Size: In humans, a copy of the entire genome contains more than 3 billion DNA base pairs.

What genome mapping can tell us and the significance of the Genome India Project (GIP)

• What is genome mapping?
  • It is the process of figuring out the location of a specific gene on a chromosome and determining the location and relative distances between other genes on that chromosome.
• Significance of the Genome India Project (GIP)
  • GIP aims to vastly add to the available information on the human species, both because of the scale of the Indian population and the diversity here.

• Applications of genome sequencing
  • Disease Diagnosis
  • Drug Development
  • Agriculture
  • Forensics

Practice Questions for Prelims

Take a look at the following statements about the Genome India Project (GIP):
1. It was launched by the Government of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
2. The GIP seeks to gather genetic samples from at least 1% of India’s population.
3. This will help us understand the nature of illnesses that impact the Indian people.

Which of the following assertions is/are correct?
A. 1 and 2 only
B. 3 only
C. 1 and 3 only
D. 2 and 3 only

Ans. b

Mains Practice Question

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