A majority of the DNA that has been sequenced for research comes from donors of European ancestry. That causes a knowledge gap about the genome of people from the rest of the world. Among various things that unite humans around the world, the DNA sequence hovers at the top: a whopping 99.9% of human DNA sequences are identical among people. Gregor Mendel, a monk and scientist whose 200th birthday is this Wednesday (July 20), proposed that certain invisible factors were responsible for the various characteristics we display. Today, we know that these factors are genes, which make up our DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid. This acid molecule gives genetic instructions to living beings. If humans share so much of the same DNA, why is diversity important in the context of DNA sequencing? To understand that, we have to shift our focus to the 0.1% of the difference in the human DNA sequences. The seemingly small difference stems from variations among the nearly 3 billion bases (or nitrogen-based compounds) in our DNA. All the dissimilarities we know between different humans including hair or eye color or the height of a person, are due to these variations. However, over the years scientists found that these variations could also give us vital information on a person’s or a population’s risk for developing a specific disease. We can then use the risk assessment from the genetic data to design a health-care strategy that is tailored to the individual. Genetics and disease risk assessment Many of us have had the experience of filling out forms at the doctor’s office that ask us about the different diseases our parents or relatives suffered. You are warned to stay away from sweets and processed sugars if a parent was diabetic, for example. While transfer of heart diseases, cancer or diabetes between one generation to another is known more commonly, there are many more diseases that can be inherited genetically. For example, we know that sickle cell anemia occurs when a person inherits two abnormal copies of the gene that makes hemoglobin, a protein in our red blood cells, one from each parent. In recent decades, genetic research has advanced to the point that scientists can isolate the genes responsible for many of these diseases. Here’s the catch: We know this correlation between genes and diseases for a very restricted population. Euro-centric data Sarah Tishkoff, a geneticist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Pennsylvania in the US, is one of many in the scientific community pushing for more diverse genomic datasets. "Let's say that a study focused on people with European ancestry identifies genetic variants associated with risk for heart disease or diabetes, and uses that information to predict risk for disease in patients not included in the original study," said Tishkoff. We know from experience that this prediction of disease risk doesn’t work well when applied to individuals with different ancestries, particularly if they have African ancestry. Historically, the people who have provided their DNA for genomics research have been overwhelmingly of European ancestry, which creates gaps in knowledge about the genomes from people in the rest of the world, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in the US. The institute states that 87% of all the genome data we have is from individuals of European ancestry, followed by 10% of Asian and 2% of African ancestry. As a result, the potential benefits of genetic research, which includes understanding early diagnoses and treatment of various diseases, may not benefit the underrepresented populations. Lack of equitability in treatment The problem does not stop with disease risk assessment. It permeates the space of equitable health care as well, says Jan Witkowski, a professor from the Graduate School of Biological Sciences at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the US state of New York. Say you have two groups: group A and group B, who are very different. The knowledge and information you learn about people in group A may not apply to people in group B. But imagine developing medical treatments based on information from just group A for everyone, he said, adding, it is not going to work on group B. By including diverse populations in genomic studies, researchers can identify genomic variants associated with various health outcomes at both the individual and population levels. The NHGRI also states, however, that diversifying the participants in genomics research is an expensive affair and requires the establishment of trust and respectful long-term relationships between communities and researchers. 

Given the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and the global quest for doing more sequencing of the virus before it spreads, Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) has completed genome sequencing of 263 COVID-19 samples at its laboratory. The doing of such public health concern task will pave the way for coronavirus vaccine development with underscoring the urgency of completing more genome sequencing to contribute to research both locally and globally, experts believe. “We have collected samples from 300 coronavirus positive patients across the country… Of them, we have decoded genome sequences of 263,” BCSIR Chairman Prof Dr Md Aftab Ali Sheikh told a dissemination meeting on “Releasing report on genome sequence” in the conference room of the organization today. Science and Technology Minister Architect Yeafesh Osman also addressed the meeting that drew a host of researchers, scientists and officials. Yeafesh said genome sequencing of COVID-19 is an important task for an effective vaccine development as it provides nature of the virus, which eventually will help scientists to produce inoculate within a shortest possible times. Referring to the fricative efforts of scientists from almost all countries of the world, he said Bangladesh has already made significant contribution to the vaccine development race by completing these large number of genome sequences of the deadly virus. The minister urged scientists and researchers to intensify their efforts with dedicated mindset to produce fruitful outputs to fight the killer disease. Aftab said the BCSIR has collected samples from 300 COVID-19 patients from May 7 to July 31 this year and successfully completed 263 genome sequences within a short time. “We have already provided information of 263 genome sequence to 50 organizations in the world, which are in advanced stage of COVID-19 vaccine development,” he said. These fifty organizations and institutions including Chinese company Sinovac Research and Development Limited, USA based biotech company Moderna and the University of Oxford in UK are analyzing genome sequence to develop an effective vaccine of the deadly virus, the BCSIR Chiarman added. Bangladesh is proud of decoding a good number of genome sequencing, he said adding BCSIR lab is one of five largest labs in the world in terms of highest number of coronavirus genome sequencing and the second largest one in South Asia. According the researchers and scientists, genome sequence assists in designing effective drugs, therapies and vaccine that target specific sequences of genomes or genes of the virus. It will help us to develop a vaccine targeting population living in different areas in the world. Genome sequences or whole genomes sequence (WGS) is important because it provides the complete manual of the virus – how it operates, infects others and transmits in population rapidly, they added, knowing the operating manual of the contagion can potentially help management of the disease. Over 70,000 genome sequencing has been completed, as reported by the International Gene Bank. Bangladesh has so far done nearly 300 genome sequencing. Source: BSS AH

A Bangladeshi father-daughter doctor duo successfully sequenced the genome of coronavirus which could potentially help develop a vaccine for our own population. A team of eight Child Health Research Foundation (CHRF) researchers, led by Dr Sejuti Saha, worked on mapping the genome sequence. Dr Samir and Senjuti Saha jointly informed the media about their feat. CHRF also announced the breakthrough in a press release. Prof Dr Sharif Akhteruzzaman of the Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Dhaka University wrote that genome sequencing has now become a powerful tool for tracking diseases - called “Genomic prediction”. “Whole genome sequencing will help researchers identify genetic changes that occur in a virus when it spreads through the population,” he wrote. Dr Akhteruzzaman said changes in the genetic sequence of the viral genomes collected from several patients will allow the monitoring of the spread of the disease within the country and between populations over time. The most important information from the viral genome sequence at this moment will be identification of particular viral strains that are prevalent in our country, identify infection hotspots or super-spreaders and formulate strategies for public health intervention, he wrote. “This will also help develop a vaccine targeting our own population.” Bangladesh has been grappling with coronavirus outbreak. The government shut down educational institutions and closed all non-essential services and transports as it declared a general holiday. But as things went downhill, the holidays were extended until May 16. The situation has hardly improved. Bangladesh on Tuesday reported 969 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths. So far, the country has confirmed 16,660 cases and 250 deaths. Source: UNB AH