What NIO scientists mapping genomes in the Indian Ocean hope to learn  

Context: 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.

Details:

• The first-of-its-kind research project in the country is aimed at understanding the biochemistry and the response of the ocean to climate change, nutrient stress and increasing pollution.
• Conceptualised over the last two to three years, the research project has been undertaken at a cost of Rs 25 crore and will take three years to complete.

NIO’s research project:

• The research project that will be flagged off at Visakhapatnam will see the team of 30 scientists and researchers — including six women — course 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.
• The researchers will collect samples from various stretches of the ocean at an average depth of about 5 km.
• The mapping of the Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic acid (RNA) will show the nutrients present in them, and also those lacking in different parts of the ocean.

What will the scientists learn from this genome mapping in the ocean?

• This 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 ocean has several micronutrients like nitrates, sulphates and silicates, minerals like iron ore and zinc, and trace metals like cadmium or copper.
• The genome mapping will show the presence of which these microbes have adapted to, in addition to their reaction to atmospheric carbon dioxide. This will help in identifying which part of the ocean has a greater concentration of which mineral or element.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/nio-scientists-indian-ocean-research-project-explained-7223532/