Fourth Day of National Workshop organised at Amity University Gwalior  

Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Gwalior organized the fourth day of DBT supported National Workshop cum Hands-on-Training on Latest Techniques in Molecular Biology, Genetic Engineering and Computational Biology. Day started with the floral welcome of Dr. Ram Kumar Mishra, Professor, Department of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, Bhopal (M. P.) by Prof. (Dr.) Rajesh Singh Tomar, Head, Biotechnology Department and Dean (Academics) Amity University, Gwalior.

In his talk, Dr. Mishra highlighted that in many scientific fields, modern research relies heavily on the use of DNA analysis to explore hypotheses at a genetic and genomic level. With such a strong dependence on these technologies, it is no wonder that the field of genetic analysis is rapidly advancing and producing increasingly effective and efficient technologies and methods.
While focusing on sequencing he explained that determining the order of DNA building blocks (nucleotides) in an individual’s genetic code is called DNA sequencing. It has advanced the study of genetics which is one of the methods used to test for genetic disorders. New technologies that allow rapid sequencing of large amounts of DNA are being developed. The original sequencing technology, called Sanger sequencing (named after Frederick Sanger, the scientist who developed it), was a breakthrough that helped scientists determine the human genome, but it is time-consuming and expensive. The Sanger method has been automated to make it faster and is still used in laboratories today to sequence short pieces of DNA. Several technologies have been developed more recently called next-gen sequencing that have speed up the process and also cost effective as compared to Sanger’s methods where sequencing of each base pair costs 1 US Dollar i.e, 3 billon USD were spent on sequencing of 3 billion base pairs of human genome.
In addition to being used in the clinic, whole exome and whole genome sequencing are valuable methods for researchers. Continued study of exome and genome sequences can help determine whether new genetic variations are associated with health conditions, which will aid in disease diagnosis in the future. Thus, genetic sequencing has a number of benefits in forensics, medicines and agriculture.
Prof. Tomar concluded in his remarks that it is clear that the future of DNA sequencing will continue to provide us with exciting advances and novel discoveries across a wide range of scientific fields which is set to continue to expand. Prof. Tomar felicitates the guest speaker with a memento. Prof.SP Singh, BHU, Varanasi was also present during the lecture.
Hands-on-Training session began with the demonstration of colony PCR and gel electrophoresis and later self practice by the participants.

Prof.(Dr.) Rajesh Singh Tomar (Organising Secretary)
i/c Vice Chancellor
Dean (Academics)
Head, Amity Institute of Biotechnology,
Amity University Gwalior