Gene Edit Versioning
EXPLORATORY“GitHub for Life” — every SMN2 sequence variant is a deterministic commit with a SHA-256 hash. The disease (SMA) is a single-nucleotide bug (C→T at position 6). Therapeutic edits are patches that restore function. Track the lineage from SMN1 (healthy) through SMN2 (disease) to corrected variants.
“GitHub for Life” — what does that mean? In software, every code change is a versioned commit with a unique hash. Here we apply the same concept to DNA: each SMN gene variant is hashed deterministically, so two sequences produce the same hash if and only if they are identical. The single C→T substitution at exon 7 position 6 that distinguishes SMN1 from SMN2 changes one bit in a 30,000-base sequence — yet this single nucleotide determines whether a patient can walk or not. Therapeutic edits (base editing, prime editing, ASO-mediated splicing correction) are tracked as patches on top of the disease variant.
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