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Use of genetic method to empower conservation
Why is it in news?
- Recently, team of scientists from National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru developed a new genetic method to make studying as well as and conserving wild species quicker, easier and cost-effective.
- It is by deriving information from animal sources containing extremely low-quality DNA- including animal faeces and cooked wild meat.
More in news
- Multiplex PCR method: Scientists method relies on identifying multiple, short portions of DNA segments in a single experiment (a ‘multiplex PCR’).
- Next-generation sequencing: It is followed by ‘next-generation sequencing’, in which multiple fragments of DNA can be decoded simultaneously, and several times, in an automated process.
- Testing of method:(1) The team tested their method on Caribbean queen conches (that are illegally harvested for meat in the Atlantic Ocean) and tigers.(2) These two are extremely different species that had strong conservation needs. It is to show how this approach could be used generally.
- Simultaneous testing and low cost: Testing several hundred samples simultaneously and decoding up to 1,000 SNPs per sample would cost as low as $5 (less than Rs. 350).
- Lesser time consuming: The biggest advantage is that this would take just five days while older methods take at least a month.
- Application: This method can be implemented in labs with access to more or less basic equipment, following a standard procedure would make it easy to share and compare the data, making monitoring populations across states or even countries easier.
Source
The Hindu