Hilsha’s genome sequence disclosed

Scientists at the Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) have disclosed the genome sequence of Hilsha fish after three years of research.
At a media briefing on Saturday on the campus in Mymensingh, BAU Fisheries Biology Professor Md Shamsul Alam, the coordinator of the research team, made the revelation.
“BAU started the research in December 2015, soon after Hilsha got recognition of geographical indication (GI) product of Bangladesh. After three years of work, we have finally disclosed the genome sequence,” he said.
The gene sequencing of hilsa, which has come to be a part of the Bangalee culture, will help reveal many secrets of its lifecycle, including its ability to survive in sea water and fresh water, and thus can help conserve, according to Alam.
It will also likely help reveal whether the fish can be domesticated, meaning if they could be cultivated in ponds or other waterbodies and thereby increase its production artificially.
“The genome contains all the heredity information of any living being encoded in the molecules of deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA. Genome sequencing, therefore, means reading all the secrets of the life of a particular species,” Alam told the media call.
Hilsa production has increased in recent years after imposing ban on catching brood hilsa and jatka (hilsa fry). Still, the most popular fish of the country that contributes around 12 percent of fish protein in Bangladesh are at risk of extinction as most of the rivers in the country are polluted and drying up.
In 2016-17, hilsa production stood at 496,000 tonnes, up from just 200,000 tonnes in 2002-03, according to the fisheries department.
The ban on hilsa fishing is placed during what traditional knowledge considers it to be their breeding period, as the period could not yet be ascertained scientifically.
Bangladesh has already obtained the geographical indication (GI) right of hilsa. With the genome decoding, it can now move for the patent registration.