30 scientists on 90-day Indian Ocean expedition to set sail from Vizag today

VISAKHAPATNAM: Marine scientists are pioneering an expedition for genome matching, studying proteins, micro nutrients and trace metal mapping in the Indian Ocean. The expedition with 30 scientists on board the indigenously-built research and survey vessel RV Sindhu Sadhana, will be flagged off early morning on March 15 from West Quay Coal Jetty, Visakhapatnam for an initial cruise of 90 days.
Funded by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the target timeline of the Rs 25 crore National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) project is three years. According to the scientists, the studies undertaken during the expedition will help identify the biogeochemistry of organisms under varying ocean conditions and enable understanding of cellular biochemistry and the ocean’s response to climate change, nutrient stress, and increasing pollution.
“We plan to use emerging biomedical techniques such as proteomics, genomics along with macro and micro-nutrients to understand the ecosystem dynamics or internal working of the vast ocean body at cellular level. This study will help scientists identify the factors controlling the changes in RNA, DNA in the oceans and various stressors impacting them,” director of NIO Sunil Kumar Singh told TOI.
The NIO director said exploring the ocean genome will help increase the growing number of commercial biotechnology applications, extending from multiple anti-cancer treatments to cosmetics and industrial enzymes, to antiviral molecules.
“Exploration of the ocean at a genetic level will result in new insights into taxonomy and adaptive capacity that can help optimise conservation efforts,” Singh said.