All roads read to the 4th International Conference on Fisheries and Aquaculture in San Antonio, Texas, USA for Zoology PhD candidate, Tirupathi Rao Golla. He uses Next-Generation Sequencing technology (Double Digest Restriction site associated DNA sequencing and transcriptomic data) to identify adaptive divergence in South African sardines and he said while this kind of work had become the standard in North America and Europe, it was important for WhiteSci to show that “we” can also do it “here” as reagents and equipment are needed locally in order for studies to produce good results.

Golla will deliver an oral presentation of his study, “A genomic appraisal of the stock structure of South African sardine (Sardinops sagax), in Texas. The results of this study have important implications for ensuring the sustained exploitation of the commercially important sardine fishery. “My project addresses a question that is important both from a biogeographical point of view and in terms of improving food security. In addition, the methods used are cutting-edge, and are as yet rarely used in South Africa or India.”

“I like using genetic data to identify biological information that is not immediately obvious, but hidden in plain sight. Before I worked on sardines, I studied genetic structure in Indian snow leopards… The genes have interesting stories to tell, and are a rich source of information on which to base conservation initiatives and the management of exploited species.”