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Genomics at a glance – Part 1/2
Recently, Genomics has been getting spotlights upon the completion of the Human Genome Project in
2003 and a series of innovations in sequencing technologies. As NGS technology matures and the cost of
sequencing is dropping fast, there is an explosion in the amount of data, and it elevates the necessity of
computer infrastructures. Clearly, there is no doubt that NGS technology brought the “Gene-omics”
revolution to the field and opened up a whole new HPC market. However, from a Biologist's viewpoint,
there are some important aspects missed by media and Sci-fi movies.
Even if we were done with Genomics, but that is not all …
Life forms arose from the edge of Chaos. This is a statement that well describes the uncertainty and
complexity of life forms. Unlike many other scientific fields, especially quantitative research areas,
Biology is a science where
the analysis and
predictions were
probabilistic. Most
outcomes of biological
research depend on
hypothesis, speculations
and their controlled
environment.
Nonetheless, the field of
Genomics equipped with
mighty sequencers still
provide only a part of the
entire story. As you can
see from the central
dogma illustration, Figure
1, genetic information
flow does not stop at DNA or
RNA level. The ultimate goal is to gain detailed insight on proteins, the final products of gene expression
as well as work-horses for maintaining life. There are complex controlling mechanisms between each
step in Figure 1. Although proteins are the final products, they also regulate transcription and
translation at DNA and RNA levels. It is like a feedback-loop in a simple view, but the complexity of
genomic system is way beyond a single line feedback-loop. They are actually multilayer feedback-
networks intertwined such as transcriptional, post-transcriptional and translational regulatory networks.
We still are quite far from the completion!
All the recent excitement about NGS is reminiscent of gene therapy from the late 80s. The rush to apply
gene therapy led to a series of failures caused tragic deaths and unexpected cancers and put the field
into dark days. Without having complete and accurate knowledge, manipulating genes should be taken
cautiously since we do not know yet what we do not know now.
Figure 1 Central Dogma (Obtained from http://www.dbriers.com/tutorials/wp-
content/uploads/2013/12/Central_Dogma-GODS-wikimedia.jpg)