Genome mapping in Indian Ocean

Genome mapping in Indian Ocean

A 30-member team of scientists and researchers from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Panaji and another 30 crew members onboard its research vessel Sindhu Sadhana will spend the next three months traversing the course of over 10,000 nautical miles in the Indian Ocean on a research project to reveal the internal working of the body of the ocean at a cellular level.

Under this, it will undertake a 90-day scientific cruise mission to conduct protective mapping of genome and nutrient present inside single-cell organisms.

Under the scheme, this campaign will be conducted in the Indian Ocean from the second week of March to mid-May.

Key Points:

  • India’s research wing will be strengthened in cancer treatment and commercial biotechnology mechanisms through genome mapping.
  • It will also assist in the study of ocean response to climate change and protective mapping of nutrients.
  • Team of 30 scientists and researchers will participate in this expedition, including six women.
  • In this expedition, a distance of about 9000 nautical miles will be covered.
  • It is known that researchers will collect samples from different parts of the sea at an average depth of about 5 km.
  • To strengthen India’s research in commercial biotechnology applications, samples of water, sediment, marine plants and various organisms will be taken in search of genomes and micronutrients.
  • It is known that scientists will be mapping the bacteria, microbes among these elements found in the sea.
  • Under this programme, samples will be collected for genome mapping of microorganisms from east coast of India to Australia in Indian Ocean, through Port Louis in Mauritius, and from border of Pakistan to west coast of India in west.
  • The main reason for mapping is to check the presence of micro elements like iron, zinc, magnesium, cadmium, cobalt in nutrients.

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

  • The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is the largest research and development (R&D) organization in India.
  • It is an autonomous institution and, the Prime Minister of India is its chairman and the Union Minister of Science and Technology is the ex-officio Vice chairman.
  • CSIR is an autonomous body registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
  • The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was established in the year 1942 and its headquarters is located in New Delhi.
  • The Prime Minister of India is the ex-officio President of this Council and the objective of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research is to carry out scientific and industrial research related to national importance.

National Institute of Oceanography (NIO)

  • It is a multi-disciplinary oceanographic research institute and one of the constituent laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
  • It was established on 1 January 1966 and is headquartered in ‘Dona Paula’ (Goa), its three regional offices are located at Kochi (Kerala), Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
  • Its function is to study the specific oceanographic aspects of the northern Indian Ocean in detail.

Source – PIB

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