ANNUAL REPORT - Department of Biotechnology

In addition Transgenic Bamboo development at
IHBT, Palampur is being attempted. D. hamiltonii
plants produced through bombardment of somatic
embryos with SOD gene were selected on the
antibiotic hygromycin, these transformants are being
multiplied for molecular characterization.
Development of molecular markers for
characterization of Bamboo germplasm is being
done at TERI, New Delhi and IHBT, Palampur.
Standardization of several molecular marker
techniques for bamboo germplasm (AFLP, 4-slect
AFLP, TE-AFLP and SAMPL) have been done.
Analysis of genetic diversity of 48 accessions
comprising 7 species using AFLP markers has been
done. High level of marker polymorphism between
different bamboo species (is 98.6%) was observed.
At IHBT, Palampur genomic DNA of 58 bamboo
accessions have been isolated and checked for its
quality and quantification. RAPD fingerprinting of 40
bamboo accessions has been completed with 40
decamer primers. AFLP fingerprinting of 58
accessions of bamboo were completed with eight
primer combinations and AFLP fingerprinting with
remaining ECO-RI/Mse I primer combinations is in
progress.
New Initiative on Zingiberaceae:
Recognizing the importance of ginger family
(Zingiberaceae) an important bioresource with
considerable economic potential, the department
organized a brainstorming on “Zingiberaceae
Biotech intervention for improved planting material
and product development”. Programmes have been
supported during this year in the identified thrust
areas: development of improved planting material,
role of gene environment interaction, biochemical
and molecular characterization in relation to
commercially useful traits, prospecting for selected
secondary metabolites and domestication of some
underutilized species of ornamental value.
Butterfly Park:
The country's first Butterfly Park has been
established at Bannerghatta Biological Park,
67
th
Bangalore. The Park was inaugurated on 25
November 2006, by Shri Kapil Sibal, Hon'ble Minister
for Science, Technology and Earth Sciences,
Government of India. The project was executed by
the Zoo Authority of Karnataka in collaboration with
the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS),
Bangalore and Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology
and the Environment, Bangalore. The butterfly park
is spread over an area of 18 acres which includes a
ten acre host-plant garden and 7.5 acres of the park
which is open to visitors. The park comprises a
butterfly garden which leads to a butterfly
conservatory spread oven an area of 10,500 sq feet,
under a polycarbonate roof. The visitors to the
conservatory can see a 15 to 30 species of butterflies
depending on the season. The butterfly conservatory
leads to a museum spread over an area of 3000 sq
feet that houses dioramas, live-exhibits, specimens
and inter-active computer kiosks. The museum also
has a multi-media centre attached to it which will be
used for educational programmes.
The UAS, Bangalore has achieved the following
milestones during the project period.
� Developed captive breeding methods for 42
species of butterflies of peninsular India
� Carried out DNA finger-printing 25 species of
butterflies
� Developed methods for DNA bar-coding of
butterflies
A view of butterfly park
Research and Development