Represents an important milestone in human genome research
DNAPrint Launches Revolutionary Pan-Genome Screening Platform Based on Ancestral Admixture Mapping
Monday December 9, 11:18 am ET
SARASOTA, Fla., Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- DNAPrint genomics, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: DNAP - News; the "Company"), unveiled a new whole-genome screening platform (ADMIXMAP) that promises to rapidly change the landscape of disease and drug response gene hunting. The new platform is revolutionary because it represents the first yet developed for cost-effective whole-genome scanning in large, heterogeneous populations. It taps into sequence differences among the world's various continental population groups to increase the power and efficiency of pan-genome disease gene screening.
ADMIXMAP will allow DNAPrint to identify new disease and drug response genes 10 times faster and 1,000-times less expensively than others who use existing methods. Dr. Tony Frudakis, CEO, informally announced the introduction of ADMIXMAP to attendees at the invitation-only IBM Life Science Solution Developer Conference in Boca Raton, FL, and proclaimed the Company's intent to partner collaborative services based on the platform to pharma, biotech and academia.
The development of ADMIXMAP was a culmination of years of research into population genomics structure and human ancestry conducted with Dr. Mark Shriver of the Pennsylvania State University. The primary focus of the work was to create an original type of human genome map based on validated and characterized Ancestry Informative Markers. snAIMs are Single Nucleotide Polymorphsims (SNPs) of significant allele frequency differences between the world's various continental population groups; prior to DNAPrint's work, such a map had not existed. This map is combined with other compositions and new, highly specialized analytical algorithms to constitute the ADMIXMAP platform. The platform functions by allowing a fine appreciation of population genomics structure relevant for solving complex human conditions, and it is based on a process called Mapping by Admixture Linkage Disequilibrium (MALD) or Admixture Mapping (AM).
DNA exists in a block like state, and hypothesis-free genome screens aim to inspect each of several hundred thousand of these blocks for sequence correlation with disease or drug response. A genome-wide study usually queries hundreds of genomes. Because each genotype costs about $0.50 and hundreds of thousands of genotypes need be created per genome, a typical genome study costs several tens of millions of dollars.
On the other hand, Mapping by Admixture Linkage Disequilibrium (MALD) or Admixture Mapping (AM) takes advantage of the fact that in recently admixed populations (i.e. Hispanics or African Americans, among many others), the block-like structure of DNA extends for MegaBases rather than kilobases (Chakraborty and Weiss, 1988; Stephens et al., 1994, McKeigue 1998, McKeigue et al., 2000). Because the DNA is made of a relatively small number of very large blocks, pan-genome coverage can be obtained with as few as 1,500 markers at a cost of only $1-2K per sample or a couple hundred thousand dollars per study.
MALD and AM can only be accomplished using Ancestry Informative Markers (AIMs) and to its knowledge, the Company is the only to yet mine the human genome to produce a pan-genome map of validated snAIMs. In addition to a validated AIM map, the MALD/AM methods also require the determination of individual ancestry admixture proportions and DNAPrint was the first to reduce the determination of individual admixture proportions using AIMs to commercial practice (see www.ancestrybydna.com). As a result, DNAPrint believes it is the only company in the world capable of practicing the MALD and AM methods.
"The single largest problem drug and diagnostics developers currently face is the cost associated with genotyping," said Dr. Matt Thomas, DNAPrint's Chief Molecular Biologist. "Due to this cost, most whole-genome research today is restricted to isolated, homogeneous populations, which can limit the general applicability of the results obtained."
"In part, the human genome was sequenced to help us get away from a restrictive focus on homogeneous, isolated populations for drug and diagnostics design," said Zack Gaskin, DNAPrint's Chief Technician. "Because ADMIXMAP is the first platform to enable cost-effective whole genome scans in heterogeneous populations, we expect it to have a profound impact on genomics- based drug and diagnostics design and we consider its development to represent an important milestone in human genome research."
DNAPrint intends to partner this new platform with biotech, pharma and academia seeking to identify new drug targets and diagnostic tests. Using this model, partners would fund the work and the Company would retain a share of the intellectual property produced. DNAPrint hopes to use the method with partners to discover hundreds or even thousands of disease genes and to acquire a significant stake in the future of genomics-based medicine. Given the magnitude of drug and diagnostics royalties, relatively few of the discovered genes need be developed as drug targets or diagnostic tests to render the endeavor a success.
LAST PARAGRAPH VERY, VERY IMPORTANT --- GEO
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