10,000 Indian genomes to be sequenced by year-end

We have sequenced close to 7,000 genomes and 3,000 of these are already available for public access, says Secretary, Department of Biotechnology

Creating a database of Indian genomes means that researchers anywhere can learn about genetic variants that are unique to India’s population groups and use that to customise drugs and therapies.  | Photo Credit: Bloomberg

The Genome India Project, a Centre-backed initiative to sequence 10,000 Indian human genomes and create a database, is about two-thirds through, said Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT).

“We have sequenced close to 7,000 genomes and 3,000 of these are already available for public access by researchers. We expect the 10,000 genomes to be completely sequenced by the end of the year,” said Mr. Gokhale at a conference organised by the Association of Biotech-Led Enterprises (ABLE), an industry group, on Friday.

About 20 institutions across India are involved in the project though the analysis and coordination is done out of the Centre for Brain Research, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.

The Indian population of 1.3 billion consists of over 4,600 population groups, and many of them are endogamous. These factors have contributed to the genetic diversity of the current population. Thus, the Indian population harbours distinct variations and often many disease-causing mutations are amplified within some of these groups. Therefore, findings from population-based or disease-based human genetics research from other populations of the world cannot be extrapolated to Indians, says a note from the IISc.

Creating a database of Indian genomes means that researchers anywhere can learn about genetic variants that are unique to India’s population groups and use that to customise drugs and therapies. The United Kingdom, China, and the United States are among the countries that have programmes to sequence at least 1,00,000 of their genomes.

“It is necessary to create public infrastructure such as genomic databases – similar to what the Information Technology industry has created – for India’s biotechnology sector to expand and have more valuable companies and start-ups,” said Vijay Chandru, co-founder, Strand Life Sciences, and former president, ABLE.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman, Biocon, and ABLE co-founder, said that building such genomic-database infrastructure must involve greater “public-private partnerships”.