The CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO) in Goa has launched a project to map the genetic diversity of the organisms as well as the effect of trace metal and micronutrients on them in the Indian Ocean. The project will be supported by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- CSIR, under one of its flagship projects TraceBioMe.
The data generated by the CSIR-NIO project will help in a long way to achieve the goals of Sustainable Development Goals 14: Life Below Water, which aim at conserving and sustainable use of the seas, oceans, and marine sources.
Ever since Industrialization began in the 19th century, the biological diversity in the oceans has decreased dramatically.
However, only a small portion of the species in the polar oceans and deep seas have so far have been identified which makes the loss of species in the oceans much more difficult to evaluate and record.
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— CSIR-NIO GOA (@CSIRNIOGoa) March 14, 2021
What will happen under the project?
The project by CSIR-NIO intends to do an elaborative sampling of sediments, planktons, water, and different organisms in the various parts of the Indian Ocean. The samplings will help in further studying the presence of different forms of organisms and the micronutrients and trace metals found therein.
The modern state-of-the-art molecular technologies, as well as the classical techniques, will be used during the sampling, and in the first phase, microscopic organisms will be investigated.
How long will be the expedition?
A 90-day long expedition onboard RV Sindhu Sadhana, a research vessel, with 30 scientists took off from Vishakhapatnam on March 15, 2021. The expedition will be completed in two legs till the end of May and will cover 9,000 nautical miles. It will end in Goa.
Why NIO is conducting the mission?
The scientists of CSIR-NIO have set out on a mission for identifying and characterizing the proteins and genes in the ocean in order to understand the cellular-level operations of the organisms in the Indian Ocean.
The scientists during the mission will be utilizing emerging biomedical techniques, such as genomics and proteomics.
Proteins will work as a catalyst for the biogeochemical reaction that the organisms undergo in the seawater. By studying Proteomics, they will be able to identify the biogeochemistry of the organisms under the changing ocean conditions.
These studies will further help in understanding the cellular biochemistry as well as the response of the ocean to the increasing pollution, climate change, and nutrient stress.
Significance of the study:
The study by NIO will help the scientists in identifying the factors controlling the changes in DNA and RNA in the oceans as well as various other stressors impacting them.
They will also be used as the tracers for tracking the causative factors and for suggesting the possible solution for their mitigation. In addition, the large pools of DNA and RNA library of the oceans will be utilized for future bioprospecting in the Indian Ocean for societal benefit.
Exploration of Ocean genome:
Rapid changes and advancements in bioinformatics and sequencing technologies have made possible the exploration of the Ocean Genome.
Further exploration of the Ocean Genome will enable to increase the growing number of commercial biotechnology applications. It will be extending from multiple anticancer treatments to cosmetics and industrial enzymes to the antiviral
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