Tongan gene pool fenced

By KATHY MARKS

The 108,000 residents of Tonga will be under close scrutiny after an Australian biotechnology firm yesterday secured exclusive rights to the country's gene pool.

The company, Autogen, believes that Tonga's isolated gene pool may offer clues to the causes of breast cancer, kidney disease, diabetes and stomach ulcers.

Autogen has signed an agreement with the kingdom to set up a database of Tongan DNA to search for the genes that cause these and other diseases.

Company chairman Joseph Gutnick said the isolation of the island and the rigid Tongan family structure offered researchers a rare chance to "screen out genetic distractions."

"It is a closed community where you can trace the lineage and genealogy of the families - you can easily observe from generation to generation and from brothers and sisters and families if there is a prevalent gene that causes a particular disease."

A genetic research facility will be set up at Tonga's Nuku'alofa Hospital.

A portion of royalties from the sale of any drugs manufactured as a result of the research will be given to Tonga, and all DNA samples will remain the kingdom's property.

It was not clear yesterday whether all the residents had been consulted on the plan by their rulers, an autocratic royal family.

Mr Gutnick hoped that discoveries would be made to "enhance the living standard of the people living in Tonga and also of general humanity."