Gene editing helps fight dreaded disease: Scientists

​Tirupati: Ethical concerns over genetic modification are not new, particularly when it comes to humans. While we don’t think genome editing gives rise to any completely new ethical concerns, there is more to gene editing than just genetic modification, observed many scientists in the Gene Editing Applications held as part ISC here on Friday.

Editing the genome can be achieved with engineered nucleases. Gene editing is the insertion, deletion or replacement of DNA at a specific site in the genome of an organism or cell. It is achieved using engineered nucleases also known as molecular scissors.

Beginning the discussion on ‘Gene Editing Applications in Medicine and Agriculture –Ethics and Regulations’ Dr K Veluthamby of Madurai Kamraj University described that over the past decade, efficient genome editing has been developed for a wide range of experimental systems ranging from plants to animals, often beyond clinical interest, and the method holds a promising future in becoming a standard experimental strategy in research labs.

Over the past three years, researchers have explored many different applications, including genetically modifying crops, eradicating viruses, screening for cancer genes.

Dr. Srivinasulu Kurkuti of University of Hyderabad described the genome editing with engineered nucleases would likely contribute to the gene therapy of different human disease ranging from HIV to cancer.

For instance, the field of synthetic biology, which aims to engineer cells and organisms to perform novel functions, is likely to benefit from the ability of engineered nuclease to add or remove genomic elements and therefore create complex systems.

Dr SR Rao of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), who was the convener of the plenary session, described the ethical concerns over genetic modification are not new, particularly when it comes to humans.

He described the regulatory options for genome-edited products in international and Indian scenarios. Panel discussion of the plenary session was carried out by the eminent scientists.