Mexican Genome Project launched

Scientists at the National Institute of Genomic Medicine in Mexico launched the Mexico Genome Project last week. They hope the study, the first phase of which is expected to cost $2.5 million, will identify genes involved in common conditions such as diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure. Gerardo Jimenez, who heads the institute, said that characterising genetic variations in the Mexican population was 'the only way to cost-effectively develop better strategies for preventing, diagnosing and treating such diseases'.

The Mexican Genome Project will begin by sequencing the entire genomes of 140 people living in the Yucatan peninsula, in south-east Mexico. These will be followed by an analysis of samples from Zacatecas and Guanajuato, in central Mexico, and Sonora, in the north-east. The Institute's scientists will work with companies Applied Biosystems, Affymetrix and IBM to analyse all the data collected. Jimenez said all the results would be made publicly available via the Institute's website.

An international consortium unveiled the final version of the entire human genome on 14 April 2003. They found that it is made up of 2.9 billion base-pairs (chemical 'letters') of DNA, and contains an estimated 25,000 different genes.

Although this 'gold-standard' genome sequence has provided a wealth of information on human genes, it does not tell researchers anything about the genetic variations involved in health and disease. Several projects are now underway worldwide to address this challenge, including the UK's Biobank, and similar medical databases in Iceland, Estonia and Japan. They all aim to link genetic information with non-identifying health information from medical records.

Meanwhile, in the US, plans are moving forward for a database that would link DNA samples donated by up to seven million veterans and their family members with anonymous medical records. However, the project, led by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, is said to be mired in controversy. Science magazine reported last week that an alternative plan for the database is now being considered, which may leave out one of the project's original proposers.