Britain鈥檚 largest ever DNA collection project has been announced by the Medical Research Council. Genetic material from thousands of sick people will be collected and stored in databases across Britain.
快猫短视频s will then use data from the Human Genome Project to guide comparison of these samples with DNA taken from healthy people. This could lead to new treatments for diseases that are thought to involve inherited mutations in many genes, such as diabetes, depression, most breast cancers and high blood pressure.
Identifying mutations responsible for disease when many genes are involved is currently very tricky.
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鈥淭hese collections are essential,鈥� says the MRC鈥檚 Frances Rawle, who is co-ordinating the DNA projects across Britain. 鈥淭hey will mean advances made in the Human Genome Project will be turned into real benefits for people.鈥�
The MRC has approved 拢8.4m for three years of funding for 14 genetic collections. Existing DNA libraries of people with hypertension, diabetes and TB and malaria will be extended, but the other 11 collections will be new.
鈥淧erhaps the most ambitious is the colorectal cancer project in Scotland,鈥� says Rawle. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e planning on taking samples from every person with colorectal cancer in Britain 鈥� that鈥檚 a tremendous challenge.鈥�
Ellen Solomon at King鈥檚 College London will lead a DNA breast cancer project. Mutations in single genes cause some cases of breast cancer, but most probably involve mutations in many genes, says Solomon.
Her team will take DNA samples from families with only slightly more cases of breast cancer than most. This suggests that they have a genetic predisposition to breast cancer, but that predisposition involves mutations in more than just one or two genes.
鈥淎s far as I鈥檓 aware, there is no other project like this in the world,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled that we鈥檝e got the funding 鈥� we鈥檝e been trying for years.鈥�
The DNA collections will complement the planned UK Population Biomedical Collection, says Rawle.
The MRC and Wellcome Trust hope to fund the collection of DNA from half a million randomly selected British people. 快猫短视频s hope that studying these people鈥檚 genes and lifestyles, along with their medical records, should reveal new information about how genes and environment can interact to cause disease.
Rawle hopes that a pilot population-wide project could begin within one year.
For details of the MRC funding awards, see