Personal genomics is finally here

Want to get your genome sequenced? No problem, all you need is $50,000 .... or you could wait 12 years and, if it follows Moore's law, it should cost under a $1000. Still pretty impressive:

" Illumina, Inc. today announced that it has delivered Hermann Hauser’s genome sequence. Dr. Hauser, Partner, Amadeus Capital Partners Ltd, is the first consumer to purchase Illumina’s individual genome sequencing service working with his physician, Michael Nova, MD, of Pathway Genomics. The genome was completed in Illumina’s CLIA-certified and College of American Pathologists (CAP) accredited laboratory using the Genome Analyzer technology. Over 110 billion base calls were generated, delivering over 30X coverage of the genome. Data analysis showed 300K novel SNPs in the genome that have not been documented elsewhere."

All Hail Venter, Emperor of Planet Earth!

Caesar Craig Venter tells us how DNA can solve all the world's problems, real or perceived: infectious disease, hunger, poverty, natural disasters, fuel shortage, global warming, etc, etc. in this lecture. It's not as bad as I expected - he certainly does a great job selling biology to the wider audience. The world could probably use an all-powerful benevolent dictator at the helm right now; Venter would probably be a good choice.

A lot of the ideas are grandiose but doable, although I'd like to hear more about how he thinks synthetic organisms can possibly replace fossil fuels to support the energy demands of industrialized civilization. I don't buy it. I'd love to see the world's oil-based economy converted to a bio-economy, but as long as there's black gold spewing out of the ground I don't see it happening. And when the oil does run out, I don't see how any biological energy production system can support civilization as we currently know it. Remember the Roman Empire? That was probably the last serious bio-economy of human history. How much better can we do?

Anyway have a watch and see if you can come up with better ideas for saving civilization.



(HTs: Palazzo, Hsien-Hsien)

Lateral Gene Transfer from Bacteria to Animals - Evidence for Pansexuality?

Ok, so maybe we will never know whether our human ancestors got it on with Neanderthals, but new evidence seems to indicate that bacteria can have sex with flies and worms. Well, sort of. A new paper in Science shows that pretty massive chunks of the Wolbachia bacterial genome can be found in the genomes of a variety of multicellular eukaryote species, including flies and worms. Wolbachia are endosymbionts that can be found in germ cells, so presumably this has facilitated accidental incorporation of microbial DNA into the animal germline.

Even more interesting is the implication that bacterial LGT may be occurring in many other species of higher eukaryotes, including humans. Current practice in the world of genomic sequencing is to filter out bacterial sequence on the assumption that it must be an environmental contaminant; these findings suggest that some bacterial sequence that has been excluded from existing genome assemblies may actually belong there.

A Myriad of Genetic Fascism

We've talked about the potential evils of biotech patents on the Bayblab in the past, but I must confess I've been ignorant about just how far companies will go in their attempts to abuse the patent system. Based on genetic research it conducted on genetically isolated Mormon families in Utah, Myriad Genetics obtained patents for genetic testing of breast cancer susceptibility genes in 2000-2001. The Cancer Cancer Society describes how Myriad is attempting to abuse its patent rights:

"In July 2001 Myriad issued a cease and desist notice in Canada instructing provincial governments to stop using any test other than BRCAnalysis to detect genetic abnormalities on the BRCA1 and 2 genes. Myriad’s patents give the company the exclusive right to perform diagnostic testing for BRCA 1 and 2 abnormalities. The patents have enabled Myriad to demand that all patient samples be sent to the company’s headquarters in Utah for analysis, which increases the cost associated with the test tremendously. The response of provinces to Myriad’s order has varied. The provinces that continue using tests other than BRCAnalysis risk facing legal action by Myriad."

Excuse me? A patent gives you the right to bar others from extracting revenues using the technology or method in question (ie a genetic test). It is obviously not a title deed granting the holder ownership of a piece of every human being's genome in every country where the patent is held. I think it's pretty obvious that individuals should have the right to use any means they choose to learn about their own genome.

Hopefully Canadian governments will follow through with the Canadian Cancer Society's demands and limit this ridiculous attempt by Myriad to commandeer the Canadian Patent System and plunder Canadian genomes. Maybe we also need to add explicit protection of personal genetic information to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.