14/02/2020 - S & T

KEY POINTS

What is the Genome India Project?

·        Its aim is to ultimately build a grid of the Indian “reference genome”, to fully understand the type and nature of diseases and traits that comprise the diverse Indian population.

·        The mega project hopes to form a grid after collecting 10,000 samples in the first phase from across India, to arrive at a representative Indian genome.

What is the significance of GIP?

·        HGP has a major diversity problem as most genomes (over 95%) mapped under HGP have been sourced from urban middle-class white people. Thus, HGP should not really be seen as representative of the human genome.

·        Horizontal Diversity: The Indian subcontinent has been the site of huge migrations, where the first migrations were from Africa. Also, there have been periodic migrations by various populations from all around the world, making this a very special case of almost all races and types intermingling genetically.

·        Vertical Diversity: There has been endogamy or inter-marriage practised among distinct groups, resulting in some diseases passed on strictly within some groups and some other traits inherited by just some groups.

Intended Benefits of GIP

·        Precision Healthcare: GIP will help in the development of personalised medicine, anticipating diseases and modulating treatment according to the genome of patients.

·        Sustainable Agriculture: Similar benefits would come to agriculture if there is a better understanding of the genetic basis of the susceptibility of plants to pests, insects and other issues hampering productivity.

·        This can reduce dependence on chemicals.

·        International Cooperation: Global science would also benefit from a mapping project in one of the world’s most diverse gene pools.

·        The project is said to be among the most significant of its kind in the world because of its scale and the diversity it would bring to genetic studies.

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