Headquartered at Donna Paula, Goa, the National Institute of Oceanography is one of the 37 constituents laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which was established in 1966. Following its motto of ‘Understanding the Seas’, a sanctioned strength of 23 scientists have recently embarked upon an expedition to explore the genomic diversity of the Indian Ocean. Aboard the research vessel Sindhu Sadhana, the marine scientists will cover a distance of nearly 10,000 nautical miles, over a span of 3 months to identify and characterise proteins from marine life, among other things.
Decoding the mission
The scientists aboard RV Sindhu Sadhana will be employing modern molecular biomedical techniques, genetic sequencing and bioinformatics, in a bid to explore the ecosystem dynamics of the Indian Ocean. With Samir Damare heading this team, the group of scientists will collect water and sediment samples to study genomes, proteins and metals.
The findings of this gene-level research study are, hopefully, going to provide insights into classification and adaptive capacity that can aid the conservation efforts around marine species, as per reports. Further, from this exploration researchers are also expecting to find commercial biotechnology applications in several aspects, such as anticancer treatments, cosmetics and more.
Significance of CSIR-NIO
In addition to basic research supplemented by state-of-the-art laboratories, CSIR-NIO also carries out applied research which receives industry sponsorships. With a library of 15,000 books and 20,000 back volumes of research journals, this Institute is equipped to admit around 100 doctoral students and facilitate almost 300 UG and PG students to pursue their research projects. CSIR-NIO is taking forward India’s research output by leaps and bounds with its research related to marine life and if anyone seeks to establish a career in this field, this institute has the potential to give them wings.
