NIO launches project for mapping genetic diversity in the Indian Ocean

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO), Goa has initiated a project to map the genetic diversity of organisms and the impact of micronutrients and trace metals on them in the Indian Ocean supported by CSIR is. Under one of his major projects, TraceBioMe.

The project envisages extensive sampling of water, sediment, plankton and various organisms in various parts of the Indian Ocean to study the presence of different types of organisms and trace metals and micronutrients, using modern state-of-the-art molecular techniques. Are found doing. Well classical technique. Micro-organisms will be investigated in the first phase.

90-day long campaign

The RV Sindhu Sadhana on a 90-day expedition ship with 30 scientists left Visakhapatnam on Monday and will be completed in two phases by the end of May, ending at 9,000 nautical miles and Goa. The data generated under this program will help in the long run to achieve the SDG 14 targets, which aim to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

Biological diversity in the oceans has decreased dramatically since industrialization began in the 19th century. However, only a small proportion of species have been identified so far in the deep sea and polar oceans, making species loss in the oceans more difficult to record and evaluate, compared to land.

CSIR-NIO scientists set out on a mission to identify and identify genes and proteins in the ocean to understand the cellular-level operation of organisms in the ocean using emerging biomedical techniques such as proteomics and genomics Have done

Proteins act as a catalyst for the biochemical reaction that organisms pass into the ocean. By studying proteomics, one can identify the biochemistry of organisms under the changing conditions of the ocean. These studies will help understand cellular biochemistry and the response of the ocean to climate change, nutrient stress and increased pollution.

This study will enable scientists to identify the factors that control the changes in RNA and DNA in the oceans and the various stresses that affect them. In addition, they will be used as tracers to track motivational factors and suggest possible solutions to their mitigation affecting society. In addition, these large pools of sea RNA and DNA libraries will be used for future bioprospecting in the Indian Ocean for human benefit.

Rapid advances in sequencing techniques and bioinformatics have enabled the discovery of the sea genome. Exploring the ocean genome will help drive a growing number of commercial biotechnological applications, from many biomedical treatments to cosmetics and industrial enzymes, to antiviral molecules.