NIO scientists conducting first of its kind genome mapping in the Indian Ocean

Context

• A team of scientists from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) will spend the next three months traversing the course of over 10,000 nautical miles in the Indian Ocean to understand it at a cellular level.

About the NIO’s research project

• The area under the project: It will cover the waters of the Indian Ocean from India’s east coast, all the way to Australia, then onward towards Port Louis in Mauritius and up to the border of Pakistan, off India’s west coast, gathering samples for genome mapping of microorganisms in the Indian Ocean.
• Depth:The researchers will collect samples from various stretches of the ocean at an average depth of about 5 km.
• Aim: The project aimed at:
• Gene mapping: The scientists will mapDeoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic acid (RNA) of bacteria, microbesfound in the ocean. The research will enable scientists to identify the factors controlling the changes in RNA, DNA in the oceans, and various stressors impacting them.
• Assessment of ocean nutrients: It will show the nutrients present in them, and also those lacking in different parts of the ocean. It will help in understanding the biochemistry of the ocean.
• Working ecosystem: It will help scientists understand the internal working of the ecosystem of the Indian Ocean.
• Adaptation analysis:The genome mapping will show the presence of which these microbes have adapted to, in addition to their reaction to atmospheric carbon dioxide.
• Commercial significance:Exploring the ocean genome will enable an increase in the growing number of commercial biotechnology applications, extending from multiple anticancer treatments to cosmetics and industrial enzymes to antiviral molecules.