Biotechnology

Map – Prevalence of vitamin A deficiency (1995 Data)

Golden Rice to counter Vitamin A deficiency | UPSC – IAS

Golden rice is a variety of rice (Oryza sativa) produced through genetic engineering to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, in the edible parts of rice. It is intended to produce a fortified food to be grown and consumed in areas with a shortage of dietary vitamin A.

Golden rice is the collective name of rice varieties that are genetically modified to counter vitamin A deficiency in developing countries.

• European scientists developed the first strain of Golden Rice towards the end of the 1990s.
• Research has indicated that one cup of Golden Rice can provide up to 50 per cent of the daily requirement of an adult for vitamin A.
• The Golden Rice can be grown just the same way we grow normal rice. There is no change in cost of cultivation.
• It reduces water use by up to 30 per cent without any yield loss.
• It should not be stored for more than three months. It may lose its nutrients after that.

Golden Rice and Provitamin A

Golden rice differs from standard rice in that it contains extra genes one from maize and one from bacterial origin together responsible for the production of provitamin A (beta-carotene) in the rice grain.

• Provitamin A colors the grains yellow-orange, hence the name ‘Golden Rice’.
• Once absorbed into the body, provitamin A is converted into vitamin A.
• Provitamin A is found in many fruits and vegetables; it is also what makes carrots orange, for example.

Vitamin A deficiency | UPSC – IAS

• Vitamin A deficiency generally occurs due to an imbalanced diet including limited access to fresh fruit, vegetables and animal products.
• Persistent deficiency in this vital nutrient can result in blindness, illness and even death.
• Vitamin A deficiency also compromises the immune system, which means children die from common diseases including diarrhea, respiratory tract infections and measles.

Genome Sequencing Significance in India | CSIR | UPSC – IAS

Genome sequencing is figuring out the order of DNA nucleotides, or bases, in a genome

Significance of Genome Sequencing – Able to study the entire genome sequence will help them understand how the genome as a whole works – how genes work together to direct the growth, development and maintenance of an entire organism. And also Genome sequencing sample of citizens determine unique genetic traits, sus­ceptibility (and resilience) to disease.

CSIR plans Genome Sequencing to map Population Diversity in India

In an indigenous genetic mapping effort, nearly 1,000 rural youth from the length and breadth of India will have their genomes se­quenced by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Re­search (CSIR). 

The project aims at – Educating a genera­tion of students on the “use­fulness” of genomics. Globally, many countries have undertaken genome sequencing of a sample of their citizens to determine unique genetic traits, sus­ceptibility (and resilience) to disease.

This is the  first time that such a large sample of Indians will be recruited for a detailed study. The project is an adjunct to a much larger government led programme, still in the works, to  sequence at least 10,000 Indian genomes. Typically, those recruited as part of genome sample collections are representa­tive of the country’s popula­tion  diversity. In this case, the bulk of them will be col­lege students, both men and women, and pursuing de­grees in the life sciences or biology.

• At the very least, the genome sequence will represent a valuable shortcut, helping scientists find genes much more easily and quickly.
• A genome sequence does contain some clues about where genes are, even though scientists are just learning to interpret these clues.
• Finally, genes account for less than 25 percent of the DNA in the genome, and so knowing the entire genome sequence will help scientists study the parts of the genome outside the genes. This includes the regulatory regions that control how genes are turned on an off, as well as long stretches of “nonsense” or “junk” DNA – so called because we don’t yet know what, if anything, it does.

Methodology | CSIR | UPSC – IAS

Genomes will be sequenced based on a blood sample and the scientists plan to hold at least  30 camps cover­ing most States. Every person whose ge­nomes are sequenced will be given a report. The partici­pants would be  told if they carry gene variants that make them less responsive to certain classes of  medi­cines. For instance, having a certain gene makes some pe­ople less responsive to clopi­dogrel, a key drug that pre­vents strokes and heart attack.

• The project would involve the Hyderabad ­based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and cost 18 crore, with  the sequencing to be done at the IGIB and the CCMB.

Frequently Asked Questions  | CSIR | UPSC – IAS

What is Genomics ? | UPSC – IAS

Genomics is the scientific study of the genome and the role genes play, individually and collectively, in determining structure, directing growth and development, and controlling biological functions. lt consists of two branches: structural genomics and functional genomics.

What is Structural Genomics ? | UPSC – IAS

The field of structural genomics includes the construction and comparison of various types of genome maps and large-scale DNA sequencing. The Human Genome Project and the Plant Genome Research Program are structural genomic research on a grand scale. ln addition to genome mapping and sequencing. the objective of structural genomics research is gene discovery. localisation and characterisation.

• Structural genomics projects have generated genome maps and complete DNA sequences for many organisms, including crop plants and their pathogens, disease causing bacteria and viruses, yeast, bacteria, the malaria parasite and the mosquito that transmits it, and the microbes we use to produce a wide variety of industrial products.

Because all living organisms share a common heritage and can translate genetic information from many other organisms into biological function, the different genome projects inform each other, and any gene discovered through these projects could have wide applicability in many industrial sectors. Knowing the complete or partial DNA sequences of cenain genes or markers can provide scientists with useful information, even if the precise details of gene function remain unknown.

What is Functional Genomics ? | UPSC – IAS

While sequencing entire genomes, discovering genes and mapping them are remarkable achievements, they represent only the first milestone in the genomics revolution. Gene sequence and mapping data mean little until we determine what those genes do, how they are regulated, and how the activity of one affects others. This field of study, known as functional genomics, enables scientists to navigate the complex structure of the human genome and to make sense of its content. Studies show that mammalian genomes have roughly the same number of genes and, in some case , species less complex than mammals have a higher number of genes.

• It is not, however, the number of genes that is important to our understanding of the various species, but. rather the compositional, functional, chemical and structural differences that dictate differentiation.

Evolutionary analysis is emerging as a critical tool for elucidating the function and interactions of genes within a genome. Molecular evolutionists use comparative genomics techniques and bioinformatics technologies to analyze the number of changes that DNA sequences undergo through the course of evolution. Using this data, scientists can recognise functionally important regions within genes and even construct a molecular timescale of species evolution.

Maternal Spindle Transfer (MST) Technique | UPSC – IAS

Recently, Fertility doctors in Greece and Spain have produced a baby from three people in order to overcome a woman’s infertility, the team used a technique called maternal spindle transfer (MST).

Maternal Spindle Transfer is a technique similar to Pronuclear Transfer in its effort to prevent the transmission of mitochondrial disease. However, the main difference between these two techniques is that Maternal Spindle Transfer uses unfertilized eggs instead of the early embryos used in Pronuclear Transfer.

• Mitochondrial transfer procedure, uses a snippet of DNA from a healthy female donor to prevent mothers passing on devastating genetic disorders such as muscular dystrophy and heart and liver conditions.
• The experimental form of MST uses an egg from the mother, sperm from the father, and another egg from a donor woman.
• All cells have mitochondria, which are like power packs for the cells and create the energy that keeps cells alive.
• While a child’s DNA is a mixture from both the mother and father, mitochondria are separate “packages of genetics” that come solely from the mother.
• Some people have a mitochondrial disease a problem with the genetics in their mitochondria which can lead to severe, life-threatening conditions, although this is rare.
• One treatment for a woman who might have one of these diseases is to replace the mitochondria in her eggs via IVF.

Maternal Spindle Transfer (MST) technique Procedure | UPSC – IAS

• Assisted reproductive technologies are used to extract the intending mother’s egg from her ovaries. The cytoplasm of the intending mother’s eggs contains the unhealthy mitochondria.
• Chromosomes, the nuclear DNA material, are found in the intending mother’s eggs are grouped together in a spindle-like formation. The chromosomes are removed for transfer to the donor egg. The chromosome-free egg, which contains the unhealthy mitochondria, is then discarded.
• Separately, a donated egg is also extracted from an unrelated woman who has healthy mitochondria. Similarly, the chromosomes of the donor’s egg are removed. However, these chromosomes are discarded, leaving behind the healthy mitochondria in the cytoplasm.
• The spindle-like chromosomes previously taken from the intended mother’s egg are inserted into the enucleated donor’s egg.
• The resulting reconstructed egg contains nuclear DNA from the mother and the healthy mitochondria from the donor.
• The resulting egg can now be fertilized with sperm from the intended father. The resulting embryo will be implanted into the intending mother and will develop unaffected by inherited mitochondrial disease.

Negative aspect of Maternal Spindle Transfer Technique | UPSC – IAS

Some groups oppose the procedure because one approach involves the destruction of IVF embryos. The technique also crosses a line in medicine because it makes genetic modifications to an embryo that will pass down to all future generations. That raises the risk of unforeseen complications affecting generations to come.