Formation of NFMC
NFMC was established in the year 1989 by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, realizing the importance of marine cyanobacterial research which was an outcome of the recommendation of DOD, Govt. of India Project. DBT had sanctioned a exclusive fund for the building of two floors build over a area of 7000 sq.feet. National Facility for Marine Cyanobacteria being a repository and separate electrical panel building with a generator to provide continuous power supply. The main building in addition to having laboratories, library, office, instrument rooms, store room etc., has a small modern auditorium for seminars. Facilities also has a mass cultivation facility for marine cyanobacteria with two large sumps to store sea water and eight cultivation tanks fitted with motors and pumps adjoining the Electrical panel building.
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Research Region
Of the total shore line over 7,500 kms of India, the Facility has completed the survey from Cape Comerin to Goa and parts of Gulf of Kutch in the West Coast and Cape Comerin to Visakapatnam in the East Coast ( Bay of Bengal, Palk Bay, Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar) and Andaman, Nicobar and Liece dive Islands. The survey covering open sea, stagnant sea water ponds and puddles, back waters and salt pans over of survey 20 years have resulted in 450 isolates. Of them about 100 of them are Molecularly tagged.
The constantly expanding repository at present has hypersaline strains and cyanobacteria from Tundra (Arctic) Habitat. NFMC is a registered centre of WDCM (World Data Centre for Microorganism) - 593, WFCC ( World Federation of Culture Collection ) 976.
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Laboratory
Since inception, the instrumental facilities keep expanding. It houses equipment needed for Morphology, Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology related works and the major equipment are
There is an E-mail Facility and a database is being created. A small library with all recent books. Most of the rooms and laboratories are air-conditioned. NFMC has an air-conditioned mobile laboratory for field trips and transportation. Above all a conducive, calm and clean atmosphere to do research is the virtue of National Facility for Marine Cyanobacteria.
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Jury
The research team is assisted by a team of dedicated supporting staff in administration. The research activities of the facility is constantly monitored by an Executive Committee consisting of experts, funding agency representatives and local members under the chairmanship of Vice-Chancellor of the University. |
