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How Can Genetic Data Be Used in Biodiversity Research?
Certain mutations in genes, changes in DNA sequences, can translate to changes in proteins that they encode, giving rise to variants known as allozymes for enzymatic proteins. In the 1970s, researchers used allozyme analysis, which can detect protein variants using their electric charge, as a proxy to study genetic variation. By the 1980s, over a thousand animal species had been screened at tens of allozyme loci, which allowed comparisons across different groups. One study found that cheetahs in South Africa had very low genetic variation because of a drastic reduction in their population size in recent history. This loss of individuals and the consequent inbreeding among close relatives contributed to their low genetic diversity.
A timeline of
Photo Credit: Jahanavi Joshi
The development of Sanger sequencing in the late 1970s and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the mid 1980s revolutionized molecular biology by allowing us to make copies of DNA from small quantities of samples and determining the sequence of units forming the DNA sequence. Using these techniques to generate DNA sequences across multiple individuals and species allowed scientists to directly view the genetic material, detect mutations and thus measure genetic variation. In one of the earliest studies using DNA sequence data, researchers compared a single gene across species to build an evolutionary tree classifying living organisms into three broad groups. Since then, multiple genes and non-protein coding DNA sequences have been combined and analyzed to establish relationships between species. For example, a large global evolutionary tree of flowering plants has helped us understand the characteristics that helped some groups to expand across novel environments. DNA sequence data has been especially useful in identification of morphologically cryptic species, which cannot be differentiated based on their external appearance.
Apart from understanding the evolutionary relationships between different species, DNA sequences are also used to understand how genetic variation is geographically distributed within a species or closely related species. Starting from the 1970s and 80s, maternally inherited genes have been widely used in such studies. They have revealed, for example, that populations of several marine species diverged between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with the closure of the Isthmus of Panama. Such sex-linked markers have also been used to study the social structure of animals, where they have shown that female humpback whales follow specific migration routes over generations that are different across ocean basins. In addition to using gene sequences, non-protein coding regions of DNA such as microsatellites, have been widely used to understand relationships between individuals within a species. A recent study looked at the effects of forest fragmentation on genetic connectivity of four mammals in central India using DNA obtained from fecal samples. Microsatellite data found that anthropogenic factors had varying impacts on species depending on their biology, with the largest impact on tigers, followed by leopards, sloth bears and jungle cats.
Rapid advances in sequencing technology now allow us to go beyond sequencing genes to sequencing large stretches of DNA across an organism’s entire genetic material. These genomic approaches use parallel sequencing to generate hundreds of gigabases of DNA sequence data, that comes with analytical challenges related to high computational power and sophisticated mathematical models. Many of these techniques can also use trace amounts of DNA from the natural environment, which allows researchers to quickly survey the biodiversity of poorly studied regions and taxa. For example, thousands of DNA sequences from soil samples enabled scientists to estimate the invertebrate diversity of a remote island in New Zealand. High-resolution genome data can help researchers tell apart closely related species when traditional genetic markers fail, as has been done in cichlid fish in Lake Victoria, Africa. Technological advances have also allowed researchers to use poor quality DNA, as in the case of eastern lowland gorillas where old museum specimens helped scientists understand the genetic effects of severe population declines in recent history.
Bharti Dharapuram is a postdoctoral researcher at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology. She is interested in processes driving patterns of species distribution and genetic diversity, especially in poorly studied terrestrial and marine invertebrates.
Jahnavi Joshi is an Assistant Professor at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular biology, Hyderabad, India. She studies systematics, biogeography, diversification, and community assembly in Asian tropical forests primarily using arthropods as a model system.
This series is an initiative by the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), under their programme ‘Nature Communications’ to encourage nature content in all Indian languages. To know more about birds and nature, join The Flock.
“At Xbox, we believe that with better tools, creators can make even more extraordinary games,” Haiyan Zhang, GM, Xbox Gaming AI, said in a blog post. “This partnership will bring together: Inworld’s expertise in working with generative AI models for character development, Microsoft’s cutting-edge cloud-based AI solutions including Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft Research’s technical insights into the future of play, and Team Xbox’s strengths in revolutionizing accessible and responsible creator tools for all developers.”
The aforementioned AI design copilot is a toolset that will help game designers turn prompts into scripts and dialogue trees. In contrast, the character runtime will enable dynamically generated plot beats and quests. We’ve already seen heavy AI integration in games by way of procedural generation — a more recent example being the 1000+ planets in Starfield. Not to mention, enemy AI has been around for way longer.
Inworld made headlines in August when it launched a modded story mode for Grand Theft Auto V, Sentient Streets, in which players had to investigate the rise of a bizarre AI-worshipping cult — a segment loaded with characters that spoke in AI-generated dialogue, on the fly. The mod was later taken down by publisher Take-Two, leaving a permanent strike on the creator Bloc’s YouTube channel. As per The Verge, Inworld’s AI technology can also be used for narration in top-down RPGs to warn players about any events awaiting off-screen and respond to questions like we’ve seen in the past year with AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Bing Chat. Microsoft has also been heavily banking on artificial intelligence, having made a $10 billion (about Rs. 83,254 crore) investment in OpenAI. The company has also integrated AI tools into its popular suite of services and also added an AI copilot to Windows.
Despite being a Microsoft-affiliated AI toolset, it would be interesting to see whether titles using them will be allowed to thrive on other platforms. In July, Valve claimed that it would be cracking down on games that included AI-generated assets if the developer didn’t own the copyright to the piece of art. For the uninitiated, when you insert a prompt to create something in AI, the software simply repurposes existing assets found online and mushes them together — basically stealing from other artists and writers without appropriate commercial licenses. Infringing them would lead to the game not being distributed on Steam, forcing the developers to seek proper licenses for the asset by reaching out to the AI companies involved. It’s unclear how Microsoft’s partnership will play out — as long as AI content is being used as a catalyst to innovate and create something new, it should be fine.
In a post on X shared by BSNL’s Andhra Pradesh (@bsnl_ap_circle) unit, the company confirmed that BSNL users can upgrade their older 2G or 3G SIMs to a 4G SIM for free. Not only will the upgrade be free, but a promotional image shared with the post suggests that users who opt for the upgrade will also receive 4GB of free data that will be valid for three months. It is speculated that BSNL is aiming to boost its upcoming 4G services with this offer. The announcement was first spotted by Telecom Talk.
To access the free data offer and the free upgrade, BSNL users are requested to get in touch with executives at BSNL’s Customer Service Centre, franchisee or retailer stores, or contact one of their Direct Selling Agents (DSA). The promo image also adds in a finer print that the offer is available with certain terms and conditions, but hasn’t detailed any, so far.
Reliance’s Jio recently launched the 4G-supported Bharat B1 feature phone in India. The handset is priced at Rs. 1,299 in India. Alongside 4G connectivity, the phone comes with JioCinema and JioSaavn applications pre-installed.
The Jio Bharat B1 is equipped with the JioPay application, which is said to allow users to make UPI payments. Aiming to increase accessibility, the phone supports 23 languages overall, including multiple regional languages.
Realme, via Weibo, announced the arrival of the Realme GT 5 Pro in China. The display of the handset is confirmed to offer 3000 nits peak brightness. It has also been teased to offer heat dissipation with a surface area of around 10,000mm2. It is confirmed to ship with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. The post doesn’t specify the exact launch date of the smartphone, however, given the release of the teasers, the launch could be just around the corner.
The Realme GT 5 Pro has been in the news a lot lately. It is expected to feature a 6.78-inch (1,264×2,780 pixels) AMOLED display and is tipped to come in 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB RAM options along with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB inbuilt storage options.
For optics, the Realme GT 5 Pro is said to have a triple rear camera unit comprising two 50-megapixel sensors and an 8-megapixel shooter at the rear. The camera setup might include a Sony LYTIA LYT808 sensor, an OmniVision OV08D10 secondary sensor, and a Sony IMX890 telephoto sensor. For selfies, there could be a 32-megapixel sensor at the front. It is said to carry a 5,400mAh battery with support for 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging.
The Realme GT 5 Pro is expected to come with upgrades over Realme GT 5. The latter was launched in China in August with a price tag of CNY 2,999 for the base model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
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