Fish Genetics & Biotechnology Division

FishGenetics and Biotechnology Division (FGBD) has been playing a significant role in providing academic and research excellence for fisheries and aquaculture development as a lead national centre in the country. The seeds of fish genetics and biotechnological research were sown at CIFE, Mumbai by the then Director Late Dr. VRP Sinha when he entrusted the responsibility of setting up a Biotech and Hi-Tech lab in 1987 to the then scientist Dr. W S Lakra and the rest is history. The research activities of FGBD span different areas of fish genetics and biotechnology including genetic improvement, molecular genetic characterization, DNA barcoding, cell culture/stem cell culture, cultivated seafood, fish proteomics, reproductive biotechnology, genotoxicity, bioinformatics etc. The Division has been offering Master’s degree and Ph. D. in Fish Genetics and Biotechnology (initially in 2001), & then Fish Genetics Breeding & Fish Biotechnology since 2010. Our alumni spread across the world with scientific, postdoctoral research positions at international level and they are engaged as scientist, assistant professor and state departmental officer at national level. The division has state-of-the-art facility for cell culture, sequencing service (NGS Facility), Zebrafish Facility and computational genetics. FGBD offers services for cell line for In Vitro research and cultivated seafood development, sequencing, DNA barcoding, genetic aspects of breeding, etc. Presently, FGBD is leading a research programme on cultivated seafood through an international collaborative project. FGBD has executed many externally funded projects supported by national and international organizations. Extension activities to develop human resources in fish genetics and biotechnology have been carried out time to time.