Question

Define the terms

(i) Bioprospecting

(ii) Endemism

Answer 1

a) Bioprospecting:

• Bioprospecting refers to exploring molecular, genetic and species-level diversity of biological resources to obtain products of economic importance.
• It simply means the exploring of natural resources for valuable products.
• It helps in the discovery of novel pharmaceutical products from plants and microorganisms.

b) Endemism:

• Endemism refers to the presence of a species only in a particular region and not anywhere else.
• For example, the Lion-tailed macaque which is endemic to the Western Ghats of India.