First bio-banking facility of critical species at city zoo

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha will soon get its first bio-banking facility where biological samples will be stored and disease and gene research of endangered species undertaken to supplement the ongoing ex-situ wildlife conservation in the state.

Set to come up at the Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP), the advanced facility will use cryopreservation technique to store the samples at an ultra-low temperature of -180 degree or -196 degree Celsius.

Sources in the Forest department said process for setting up of the lab in the zoo has already been initiated and steps are being taken to procure equipment for the project. “The facility will help us in storing gametes of deceased endangered species, DNA and RNA samples of wildlife species, their embryos as well as different tissue and blood samples,” said an official.

Zoo sources said the facility will act as a gene bank and be helpful in studying the genetic diversity of endangered species. Most importantly, it will help in disease investigation to know genetic disorders.