Fisheries and aquaculture sectors in India are vital sectors of food production, providing nutritional security not only to the weaker section of the society but also to other classes of communities irrespective whether rich or poor.Even though aquaculture production is increasing, the question remains whether the industry can continue to grow in a sustainable manner and to meet the future projected fish demand.Local aquaculture practices alone cannot meet the ever-widening demand-supply deficit resulting from the exponential increase in human population, therefore, there is need for new and improved scientific methods. So, a significant increase in productivity will now only be achieved through the adoption of genetic technologies. Many approaches to fish genetics, breeding, and genomics (structural to functional genomics) and their application in developing genetically enhanced fish species with desirable traits are included in this research area.To create high-yielding candidate species with certain quality features, fresh strategies are needed (QT). The development of a CRISPR-based platform for genome editing in fishes and a standardized procedure for germ-line transmission is the probable outcome of this exertion.

Research Projects

1. Optimization of Genome Editing for Loss of function study in Danio rerio DRE/DRF cell line using RNA-guided Cas9 nucleases
2. Development of CRISPR/Cas9 engineering platform for genome editing in Danio rerio and generation of mstn-knock-out lines
3. Establishment of embryonic stem (ES) cells from Orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) as germline transmission platform, and strain improvement through genome editing

Research Publications