India decodes first human genome, joins elite nations

Scientists from the Indian Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) in New Delhi, led by Dr. S. Sridhar and PhD student Vinod Scaria, are the masterminds behind this breakthrough.

It took them six weeks, several supercomputers, bio-informatics tools, and funds of around $30,000 (Rs 13.5 lakh) to map the Human Genome Sequence of a 52-year-old Indian male. The project also involved two years of background work.

IGIB is a laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

India’s entry in the select group
With this achievement, India now joins the elite group of countries-- U.K., U.S., Canada, China, and Korea--the only nations which have accomplished the feat.

“The sequencing of the genome puts India in a select group of countries, including the USA, the UK, Canada, Korea and China, which have demonstrated such capability,” said Samir Brahmachari, Director-General of the CSIR.

Giant step towards predictive health care
The breakthrough is expected to line up new advancements in the low-cost health care facilities for the masses whose genomes would be mapped. It will also enable the new possibilities for diagnosis and treatment of various diseases.

Furthermore, the human genome mapping could also solve medical mysteries such as why certain people do not respond to certain medications, or could even predict particular diseases likely to be developed in certain groups.

For instance, the genome mapping of the 52-year-old person revealed that he was likely to contract cancer and some other diseases in the later stages of his life.

"The human genome sequence is like a map of the human body. Through this map, we can tell what leads to what. We can use this map to predict mutations in the gene, like predicting how a certain person may get a certain disease. We can predict for instance, who will get the common bipolar disease or single nuclear polymorphism," IGIB director Dr. Rajesh Gokhale informed.

"Through the same tool, we can predict the chances of a particular disease affecting a population. We can also explore aspects like why certain drugs don't affect certain people," he said.

Scientists at the CSIR are speculating that regardless of the high costs involved, the human genome mapping will soon become a popular medical practice.

"While genome sequencing is certainly expensive now, in about five years, we can look forward to making it a common diagnostic tool. A cancer patient for instance should be able to avail this facility, and the sequencing can predict what drugs will be useful for him," Dr. Gokhale said.

CSIR’s previous achievements
Prior to this breakthrough, scientists from the CSIR had decoded the genome of a zebrafish, which was also considered as a significant medical feat.

Zebrafish is often used for modeling human diseases. It has 1.8 billion base pairs, whereas a human genome has 3.1 billion base pairs, which can describe every bodily function. India was the first country to decode the genome of a zebrafish.

A more recent CSIR initiative includes sequencing of the genetic diversity of the country’s population. It was regarded as the earliest attempt worldwide.

Human Genome
In the molecular biology, genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information, as states the Wikipedia.

The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA stored on 23 chromosome pairs. It could explain all the functions in the human body.