Firm to Study Genes in Tonga

S Y D N E Y, Nov. 22 -- The tiny Pacific paradise ofTonga has it all — swaying palms, golden sands and an isolatedgene pool that might offer clues to the cause of commondiseases.

Small Australian biotechnology company Autogen Ltd said today it had signed a deal with the Polynesian kingdom of108,000 people to set up a database of Tongan DNA so it couldsearch for disease-causing genes.

Autogen chairman Joseph Gutnick said Tonga’s isolation,rigid family structure and the prevalence of certain diseasesoffered researchers a unique chance to “screen out geneticdistractions.”

“The less mixture of inter-racial marriage, the more likelyyou are able to determine a particular gene that may beresponsible for ... a particular disease, whether it’s breastcancer or whether it’s kidney disease,” Gutnick told Reuters.

“There may be a gene that’s common to a particular familyand you need to isolate it. That’s easier if the population hasbeen isolated,” he said.

Isolated Kingdom

Isolation is one of the few things Tonga has a lot of — itrests 2,235 miles northeast of Sydney.

Gutnick refused to identify which diseases were regarded ascommon in Tonga but said his company had worked in the past onidentifying genes found in people suffering diabetes andobesity.

“It may be cancer, diabetes or stomach ulcers, all thesetypes of common ailments,” he said.

Gutnick said his company would set up a genetic researchfacility in Nuku’Alofa hospital and would provide informationfor a health database. The research would cost hundreds ofthousands of dollars over an initial five-year period.

All DNA samples collected would remain the property ofTonga, which would be paid royalties from any drugs or othercommercial applications which might result from the research.

DNA is a kind of genetic fingerprint unique to everyindividual. It is the molecule in the body that transmitshereditary characteristics from parents to children.