Human genome sequencing

Australian geneticists associated with the Garvan Institute (Sydney, Australia) have offered the first release of the Medical Genome Reference Bank (MGRB), derived from whole genome sequencing of 2570 older Australians.  Accordingly, they report: “We analyse the MGRB for single-nucleotide, indel and structural variation in the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. MGRB individuals have fewer disease-associated common and rare germline variants, relative to both cancer cases and the gnomAD and UK Biobank cohorts, consistent with risk depletion. Age-related somatic changes are correlated with grip strength in men, suggesting blood-derived whole genomes may also provide a biologic measure of age-related functional deterioration. The MGRB provides a broadly applicable reference cohort for clinical genetics and genomic association studies, and for understanding the genetics of healthy ageing.”     MORE

Image Credit:  Garvan Institute