Department of Biotechnology (DBT) announced completion of sequencing 10,000 Human Genome

Posted 28 Feb 2024

2 min read

Sequencing whole genome of 10,000 healthy individuals from 99 communities of diverse Indian populations was completed under Genome India Project (GIP).
GIP, inspired from Human Genome Project, was launched and funded by DBT (under Ministry of Science & technology) in 2020 to collect 10,000 genetic samples from citizens across India, to build a reference genome.
It is a consortium of 20 national institutes and led by Centre for Brain Research Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science.

Significance of GIP: Creating a database of Indian genomes can help researchers to learn about genetic variants that are unique to India’s population groups and use that to customise drugs and therapies.

About Genome and its sequencing
- Genome is entire set of DNA instructions found in a cell.
- In humans, it comprises 23 pairs of chromosomes (thread-like structures of DNA) in cells’ nucleus and small chromosome in cells’ mitochondria.
  - Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is molecule that carries genetic information for functioning of an organism.
  - DNA contains unique chemical codes determined by order of Adenine (A), Cytosine (C), Guanine (G) and Thymine (T) (four nucleotide bases present in DNA).
- Genome sequencing refers to figuring out order of DNA nucleotides in a genome (i.e., order of As, Cs, Gs, and Ts).

Human Genome Project, launched in 1990 (completed in 2003), covered about 92% of total human genome sequence.
IndiGen programme to undertake whole genome sequencing of thousands of individuals representing diverse ethnic groups from India.
Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) sets standards to expand genomic data use within a human rights framework.

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