Chile's genetic code
The ethnic mixture of native peoples and migrations throughout their history distinguish the Chilean population. It will be precisely this combination that will decipher 1000 Genomas Chile, the most ambitious initiative in its kind that has been launched in the country. The project will allow to know the national genetic heritage and brings together several centers of scientific excellence.
17 years ago, an important announcement revolutionized science. Researchers of the human genome project reported that they had completely read the three billion pieces of the code that forms the human DNA, the culmination of an eight -year scientific effort.
An important resource was born with high expectations. Innovative forms of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases were the promises that were glimpsed.
In Chile, various institutions joined the study of the genome. But they were disintegrated initiatives.
Therefore, this year the 1000 Genomas Chile project was created, officially released on August 24. The initiative is broad and ambitious. As the first objective, it seeks to know the Chilean human genome, through the sequencing of the genome of 1,000 Chileans, and create a public repository available for the health and scientific system.
The genome of 1,000 native or introduced species will also be sequenced. This will reveal how they have adapted, to take advantage of genetics as a sustainable productive element for the conservation of the natural environment.
The value DNA
The key actor in this process is DNA. A molecule common to all living beings and that highlights the kinship among all species, explains Miguel Allende, director of the genome regulation center, which leads the project.
That genetic material, densely packed in a tiny space within each of our cells and all those around us, describes, "it is the one that determines an important part of our characteristics, providing us with a master plan for our construction."
The project brings together several scientific centers of excellence. Genomics is an area that requires diverse knowledge, says Allende, so they range from molecular biology to engineering. They are the genome regulation center (CRG), the Mathematical Modeling Center, the Advanced Chronic Diseases Center (ACCDIS), the gerocent and metabolism center, and the Millennium Institute of Integrative Biology.
This task will not be built from scratch, Allende explains, as the work of dozens of colleagues will be used, in universities and centers of the country that already make genomics both in people and in non -human species. "Our desire is that these efforts are part of this initiative."
cohort Maule
Molina has a natural history of chronic diseases. Trait of the focus of the study La Cohort Maule, of the ACCDIS, and which is part of 1000 genomes.
Sergio Lavander, director of the ACCDIS of the U. of Chile, indicates that it is a group of 10,000 people, of which samples will be obtained for the project. The prevalence and dynamics of risk factors associated with chronic disease development will be determined, together with identifying associated health events, such as quality of life and cognitive performance.
"If we do not investigate it, nobody will do it," says Lavander. Because although the Chilean population has genetic factors common to other nations, "we also have something that makes us different. The most important thing is to have the genetic heritage of the Chilean population, which will be available for the Ministry of Health, for women who have a susceptibility of certain types of cancer, investigate them, help them prevent and know which is the best treatment."
In the case of native flora, CRG scientists are already working on the sequencing of Atacama desert plants, which live in very difficult life conditions. Ariel Orellana, Vice Chancellor for Research and Doctorate from the U. Andrés Bello, points out that interest is to know what are the mechanisms that have generated to survive in these extreme conditions.
The country had pioneering initiatives in this area as a Chile genome, promoted by the president of CONICYT, Eric goals, during the administration of Ricardo Lagos, which made advances in genomics of natural resources of economic importance such as peach, the vine and the salmon of the Atlantic.
Eventually, this information about the genome of Chilean plants, says Orellana, would allow to capture information that can be transferable to the agricultural and crop industry. "We are open to analyze different species that have interest in being endemic, which are unique in a global context," he says.
What is required now, says Allende, is the coordination of institutions and teams with the necessary expertise, "as well as a direct support for the development of genomics as part of a national knowledge creation strategy and increased well -being and competitiveness."
During 2019 a public call will be made for those who wish to contribute with their genetic information to the program. Donation that will be anonymous, Allende clarifies. Your contribution will only translate to find out the average genome in Chile, but they will not know about their data. That is, volunteers will not have personalized information about their genome. The project will have its first results in 2019 and will end in 2022.
