Genome India Project

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Biotechnology

Concept :

Recently, the secretary of the Department of Biotechnology said that under the Genome India project, close to 7,000 genomes have been sequenced and 3,000 of these are already available for public access.

Genome India Project

Taking inspiration from the Human Genome Project, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) initiated the ambitious “Genome India Project” (GIP) on 3rd January 2020. It is a Central Sector Project.
The GIP aims to collect 10,000 genetic samples from citizens across India, to build a reference genome.
This is a mission-mode, multi-institution consortium project, the first of its kind in India supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.

Goal

The goal of the research is to develop predictive diagnostic indicators for several high-priority diseases and other uncommon and genetic disorders.
In phase 2, the project would collect genetic samples from patients with three broad categories – cardiovascular diseases, mental illness, and cancer.
Through whole-genome sequencing, the plan is to build an exhaustive catalogue of genetic variations for the Indian population.

Targeted areas

Some of the priority areas are Precision health, Rare genetic disorders, Mutation spectrum of genetic and complex diseases in the Indian population, Genetic Epidemiology of Multifactorial Lifestyle Diseases, and Translational Research.

What is a genome?

Every organism’s genetic code is contained in its Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA), the building blocks of life.
A genome, simply put, is all the genetic matter in an organism.
It is defined as “an organism’s complete set of DNA, including all of its genes.
Each genome contains all of the information needed to build and maintain that organism.
In humans, a copy of the entire genome — more than 3 billion DNA base pairs — is contained in all cells that have a nucleus”.