Video Transcript
The study of the association between genetics and drug response is called pharmacogenomics. In light of the statement, which of the following best describes how studying the human genome can help in the development of the drug industry? (A) By making it possible to test drugs on a variety of species within a short period of time. (B) By making it possible to extract genes of antibiotics from plants and microorganisms. (C) By making it possible to study the genetic cause of how individuals respond to drugs differently. (D) By easily determining the active ingredient of the drug.
This question asks us about pharmacogenomics. You might recognize the prefix pharma-, which refers to the study of drugs and their interactions with the human body. And the word part genomics refers to the study of all the genes in an organism and how they interact with each other and the environment. Let’s see how these two things can work together to answer this question.
As humans, we are all very similar to each other. About 99.9 percent of your DNA is shared with other humans. This might not seem like much of a difference. But because our genome is about three billion nucleotides long, 0.1 percent is three million nucleotides that are different between humans. Some of these differences can be present in genes that make proteins.
For instance, the sequence shown here could be a portion of the DNA sequence for the insulin receptor. Notice that the sequence is the same except for a single nucleotide. This single nucleotide difference can change the amino acid being produced and therefore may change the properties of the resulting protein. So if these two people were receiving insulin as a medication, then they might respond differently to this treatment because their insulin receptors bind to insulin in different ways.
This is just one example of a single receptor. There can be millions of changes between humans that can change the way different proteins function and how we respond to different drugs. Pharmacogenomics can be used to group people based on how well they respond to different drugs. This allows researchers to personalize medicine depending on the genetic differences an individual possesses.
So now, if we go back to this question, we can see that the correct response to how pharmacogenomics can help in the development of the drug industry is given by answer choice (C): by making it possible to study the genetic cause of how individuals respond to drugs differently.
