NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday released the genome sequencing data of 10,000 Indian nationals and said it will be a milestone in the field of biotechnology research.
The Genome India Data, which represents the genetic diversity in the country, will be available to researchers at the Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC) through managed access. “I am confident this will be a milestone in the field of biotechnology research,” Modi said in a video-recorded statement played out at the Genomics Data Conclave organised by the Department of Biotechnology.
Modi said this national database will facilitate advancements in the treatment of genetic and infectious diseases, foster the development of new medications and precision medical techniques, and enable research into the lifestyles and habits of diverse communities.
A genome is the complete set of DNA sequences in an organism and contains all the instructions required for that organism to function, including embryogenesis, growth, responding to the environment, and healing from disease. The primary aim of Genome India is to construct a comprehensive catalogue of genetic variations for India’s population that will better capture our unique diversity. Launched in January 2020, its goal is to sequence 10,000 genomes from healthy Indian individuals spanning the length and breadth of the country.
The Human Genome – the complete map of all 23 large DNA sequences (chromosomes) that encodes our species – comprises a total of around three billion base pairs contained within the nuclei of each of our cells.
According to Martin Carkett and Alexander Honkala, experts in the field, while this sequence of base pairs is virtually identical in every human, differentiating us from, say, a chimpanzee or a mouse, there are nonetheless subtle differences in each of our individual genomes that make us unique. Whole-genome sequencing enables us to read a person’s individual genome and, among other things, identify differences from the average human genome that are often associated with disorders and disease but can also be associated with other factors like disease resistance.