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UK Biobank Makes Available 200,000 whole genomes Open Access

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, Ph.D.

The following is a summary of an article by Jocelyn Kaiser, published in the November 26, 2021 issue of the journal Science.

To see the full article please go to https://www.science.org/content/article/200-000-whole-genomes-made-available-biomedical-studies-uk-effort

The UK Biobank (UKBB) this week unveiled to scientists the entire genomes of 200,000 people who are part of a long-term British health study.

The trove of genomes, each linked to anonymized medical information, will allow biomedical scientists to scour the full 3 billion base pairs of human DNA for insights into the interplay of genes and health that could not be gleaned from partial sequences or scans of genome markers. “It is thrilling to see the release of this long-awaited resource,” says Stephen Glatt, a psychiatric geneticist at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University.

Other biobanks have also begun to compile vast numbers of whole genomes, 100,000 or more in some cases (see table, below). But UKBB stands out because it offers easy access to the genomic information, according to some of the more than 20,000 researchers in 90 countries who have signed up to use the data. “In terms of availability and data quality, [UKBB] surpasses all others,” says physician and statistician Omar Yaxmehen Bello-Chavolla of the National Institute for Geriatrics in Mexico City.

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This UKBB biobank represents genomes collected from 500,000 middle-age and elderly participants for 2006 to 2010. The genomes are mostly of a European descent. Other large scale genome sequencing ventures like Iceland’s DECODE, which collected over 100,000 genomes, is now a subsidiary of Amgen, and mostly behind IP protection, not Open Access as this database represents.

UK Biobank is a large-scale biomedical database and research resource, containing in-depth genetic and health information from half a million UK participants. The database is regularly augmented with additional data and is globally accessible to approved researchers undertaking vital research into the most common and life-threatening diseases. It is a major contributor to the advancement of modern medicine and treatment and has enabled several scientific discoveries that improve human health.

A summary of some large scale genome sequencing projects are show in the table below:

Biobank	Completed Whole Genomes	Release Information
UK Biobank	200,000	300,000 more in early 2023
TransOmics for Precision Medicien	161,000	NIH requires project specific request
Million Veterans Program	125,000	Non-Veterans Affairs researchers get first access
100,000 Genomes Project	120,000	Researchers must join Genomics England collaboration
All of Us	90,000	NIH expects to release 2022

Other Related Articles on Genome Biobank Projects in this Open Access Online Scientific Journal Include the Following:

Icelandic Population Genomic Study Results by deCODE Genetics come to Fruition: Curation of Current genomic studies

Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC), generated the largest catalogue so far of variation in human protein-coding regions: Sequence data of 60,000 people, NOW is a publicly accessible database

Systems Biology Analysis of Transcription Networks, Artificial Intelligence, and High-End Computing Coming to Fruition in Personalized Oncology

Diversity and Health Disparity Issues Need to be Addressed for GWAS and Precision Medicine Studies