Context: Recently, a team of researchers from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and crew members will sail 10,000 nautical miles in the Indian Ocean to map its genomes.
About Indian Ocean Genome Mapping Project

• It is first-of-its-kind research project in India.
• It is a project of National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Panaji.
• The project has been undertaken at a cost of Rs 25 crore and will take three years to complete.
• The vessel Sindhu Sadhana will course the Indian Ocean from India’s east coast, to Australia, then towards Port Louis in Mauritius and up to the border of Pakistan.

Objectives 

• The project is aimed at gathering samples for genome mapping of microorganisms in the Indian Ocean.
• The mapping of the Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic acid (RNA) will show the nutrients present in the bacteria, microbes found in the ocean.
• It is aimed at understanding the biochemistry and the response of the ocean to climate change, nutrient stress and increasing pollution.

Key learning from the Project

• The project will help scientists understand the internal working of the ecosystem of the Indian Ocean.
• The research will enable scientists to identify the factors controlling the changes in RNA, DNA in the oceans, and various stressors impacting them.
• The genome mapping will show the presence of which the microbes have adapted to, in addition to their reaction to atmospheric carbon dioxide.
• The ocean has several micronutrients like nitrates, sulphates and silicates, minerals like iron ore and zinc, and trace metals like cadmium or copper.
• The project will help in identifying which part of the ocean has a greater concentration of which mineral or element.
• The large pool of RNA, DNA library of the oceans will be utilised for using the Indian Ocean to human benefit in the future.
• It will enable an increase in the growing number of commercial biotechnology applications, extending from multiple anticancer treatments to cosmetics and industrial enzymes.
• It will result in new insights into taxonomy and adaptive capacity that can help optimize conservation efforts.