Genomics Is About to Explode!

In 1953, the human race opened the book of life with the publication of the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick. DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, a molecule that beautifully codes for the blueprint of how a life is made and sustained. A book of life contains just the 4 letters, A, T, C and G, but in many very long sequences indeed!

A first major achievement in reading the information in DNA was made in 1961 when the genetic code was cracked. This fairly universal code is the key to translating triplets of DNA to amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.

When we say genome we mean the complete set of all DNA in a cell’s nucleus. A human genome is contained in a cell with 23 pairs of chromosomes. We count only one of each pair when we say the human genome has about 3 billion letters. Genes, the ones we commonly refer to as protein-coding, are usually just small subsets of a genome.

A draft of the human genome (more precisely, genome of a specific individual) was published in 2001, followed by a complete draft in 2003. The cost of this human genome sequencing project: ca. US$2.7 billion.

One human genome sequenced in 2001, then in 2013 the announcement of China’s BGI (Beijing Genomics Institute) to sequence a million human genomes. Published in 2016 are the genomes of 2,500 people (https://news.embl.de/science/1510-1000genomes). The Personal Genome Project (PGP) announced in 2005 aims to sequence and publicize the complete genomes and medical records of 100K volunteers, to be used as reference database for personalized medicine. 3K rice genomes were published in 2014; and there are now plans to sequence the 127K rice accessions and wild relatives kept at the international rice genebank at IRRI (International Rice Research Institute in Laguna, Philippines). The US Smithsonian’s Global Genome Initiative (https://ggi.si.edu/) aims to gather, understand, and preserve (in ice) organisms from all branches of the tree of life; more than 500K genomic samples are now preserved and available for researchers.

Biodiversity Genomics is at its infancy, and as its executive director, I am trying to position the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) to be a world leader in this exploding field. The Philippines is hotspot of biodiversity. There is much that we can learn about life itself from the study of this biodiversity in our midst, much benefit that we can derive from these basic studies, and, importantly, much that we can learn to safeguard the integrity of the beautiful but fragile ecosystems. We should stop and think hard about the fact that 99% of the ~4 billion species of organisms that have ever lived on earth are now extinct…

The PGC is now interacting and planning on collaborations with members of the following international groups: Dawn Field & her Genomics Observatories Network, as well as the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics in Canada. Dawn Field and Neil Davies are the authors of Biocode: The New Age of Genomics (2015). We must strive to be good and responsible members of the global scientific community.

The obvious question left unasked in this talk is: what are we going to do with all these genome sequences? Tons. The number of genomics companies is exploding. Companies such as 23andMe are offering direct-to-customer services to sequence certain genes or regions in one’s DNA and provide analysis and predictions for susceptibility to various diseases, responsiveness to drugs, and even one’s ancestry. The US company Guardiome offers sequencing your whole genome and a “personal genome vault and analyzer”, for US$3,100. The company uBiome is a leading microbial genomics company that offers the “world’s first sequence-based clinical microbiome test”. Evogene, a plant genomics company based in Israel, offers a technology to “enhance seed traits underlying productivity.” Of course, there are many bioinformatics companies that offer computational solutions and services for the analysis of genomes. The following URL lists 419 genomics companies: http://www.labcritics.com/genomics-companies/.

The R & D programs currently maintained by the PGC are described in detail in its website: www.philippinegenomecenter.org. Some specific aims of the PGC Health Program are to develop kits for early diagnosis and treatment of communicable and non-communicable diseases; expand strategic biogenomic surveillance and forecasting system in the Philippines; identify drug resistant strains and new strains during epidemics and outbreaks; and advance pharmacogenomics. “Lab-in-a-Mug” Kits for Dengue, TB, Leptospirosis, Flu, Salmonellosis, etc. are now being developed by the PGC’s first spin-off company, MANILA HEALTH TEK INC., created by PGC Researcher Raul Destura.

The PGC Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries Program is geared towards the genetic improvement of plant varieties and animal breeds using molecular marker-assisted selection and breeding. Ultimately, the program aims to produce improved varieties of crops indigenous to the Philippines such as abaca, saba banana, pili, and coconut.

The PGC Program Biodiversity Program has the following on-going projects: venomous marine snails as potential source of drugs for pain, epilepsy and other neurological disorders; microorganiss associated with marine snails and sponges are explored as a source of neuro-active, anti-microbial and anti-cancer drugs; use of genomics to study and conserve endemic Philippine flora and fauna, to propagate natural varieties as well as to generate new high quality varieties.

Finally, the PGC Program in Forensics & Ethnicity is focused on studying genetic variations within and across human, animal and plant populations for applications to forensic and ethnicity studies. The aim is to contribute genetic information to the studies of other disciplines such as archaeology, linguistics, anthropology and history, in order to obtain a greater appreciation of the distinct cultures and shared histories in the Philippines in our quest to find the common genetic denominator amongst all groups.

I am inviting members of the private sector to join the PGC in advancing genomics in the Philippines, for the benefit of Filipinos and the world.