The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has achieved completion of first ever Human Genome Sequencing in India. Scientist of CSIR at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi has sequenced the Human Genome of an anonymous healthy Indian citizen.
The first Human Genome Sequence in the world was a result of the International Human Genome Project comprising scientists from United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and China. The Project formally started in 1990 and the sequencing was completed in 2003. This spectacular feat at that time was hailed equivalent to the man landing on the moon. India could not be a part of this large initiative as in the early nineties it lacked the necessary resources. With the completion of the first Human genome sequence in India, the nation is now in the league of select few countries like United States, China, Canada, United Kingdom, and Korea who have demonstrated the capability to sequence and assemble complete human genomes. CSIR could achieve this by adopting new technologies and by effectively integrating complex computational tools with high throughput analytical capabilities.
While the first Human Genome Sequence effort took more than a decade spending over a billion US dollars, CSIR scientists at IGIB finished the complete sequencing and assembly in much shorter time comparable with similar recent effort the world over. By using next generation technologies and skills, they successfully bridged the technological gap that existed a decade ago.
