My Talk
A guide to the past and future of human beings
The human genome has been “completely” sequenced (Science, 1 April 2022 Special Issue).
Twenty years ago, when the completion of the human genome was declared in 2003, 15% of the entire
human genome sequence (3.05 billion base pairs), including repeat sequences that were difficult to
analyze at that time, was undeciphered. Approximately 8% of the total, or 200 million base pairs, had
not been decoded even in 2017, but they were finally decoded completely this year. This is a
remarkable achievement about 30 years after the start of the Human Genome Project. The remaining 200
million base pairs contained 115 protein-coding genes, bringing the total number of human genes to
19,969. The number of genes, which was estimated as 100,000 at the start of the Human Genome Project,
was estimated as over 30,000 after the draft sequence analysis, and the number was about 20,000 in the
end. Even though it has not been completely deciphered, the human genome sequence information has had
a tremendous impact on medical scene since 2003, when the post-genome era has been called for, and
genomic medicine based on individual genome information is becoming a reality. Needless to say, the
sequence itself is information and does not indicate a function, and it is unknown whether the
complete decoding of the human genome will reveal anything new in biology and medicine. However, there
is no doubt that important information has been added for us to know ourselves. Genome sequencing is
the first step in understanding biological features, revealing the past and future. Based on this
information, will human beings head for evolution to create technology-based newtypes, or will it go
to extinction as an environmental destroyer?
Masamichi Kamihira, Ph.D.
Professor
Kyushu University
