Plant Biology and Biotechnology

Plant genomics and biotechnology have recently made enormous strides, and hold the potential to benefit agriculture, the environment and various other dimensions of the human endeavor. It is no exaggeration to claim that the twenty-first century belongs to biotechnology. Knowledge generation in this field is growing at a frenetic pace, and keeping abreast of the latest advances and calls on us to double our efforts. Volume II of this two-part series addresses cutting-edge aspects of plant genomics and biotechnology. It includes 37 chapters contributed by over 70 researchers, each of which is an expert in his/her own field of research.

Biotechnology has helped to solve many conundrums of plant life that had long remained a mystery to mankind. This volume opens with an exhaustive chapter on the role played by thale cress, Arabidopsis thaliana, which is believed to be the Drosophila of the plant kingdom and an invaluable model plant for understanding basic conceptsin plant biology. This is followed by chapters on bioremediation, biofuels and biofertilizers through microalgal manipulation, making it a commercializable prospect; discerning finer details of biotic stress with plant-fungal interactions; and the dynamics of abiotic and biotic stresses, which also figure elsewhere in the book.

Breeding crop plants for desirable traits has long been an endeavor of biotechnologists. The significance of molecular markers, marker assisted selection and techniques are covered in a dedicated chapter, as are comprehensive reviews on plant molecular biology, DNA fingerprinting techniques, genomic structure and functional genomics. A chapter dedicated to organellar genomes provides extensive information on this important aspect.

Elsewhere in the book, the newly emerging area of epigenetics is presented as seen through the lens of biotechnology, showcasing the pivotal role of DNA methylation in effecting permanent and transient changes to the genome.Exclusive chapters deal with bioinformatics and systems biology. Handy tools for practical applications such as somatic embryogenesis and micropropagation are included to provide frontline information to entrepreneurs, as is a chapter on somaclonal variation.

Overcoming barriers to sexual incompatibility has also long been a focus of biotechnology, and is addressed in chapters on wide hybridization and hybrid embryo rescue. Another area of accomplishing triploids through endosperm culture is included as a non-conventional breeding strategy. Secondary metabolite production through tissue cultures, which is of importance to industrial scientists, is also covered.

Worldwide exchange of plant genetic material is currently an essential topic, as is conserving natural resources in situ. Chapters on in vitro conservation of extant, threatened and other valuable germplasms, gene banking and related issues are included, along with an extensive account of the biotechnology of spices – the low-volume, high-value crops.

Metabolic engineering is another emerging field that provides commercial opportunities. As is well known, there is widespread concern over genetically modified crops among the public. GM crops are covered, as are genetic engineering strategies for combating biotic and abiotic stresses where no other solutions are in sight. RNAi- and micro RNA- based strategies for crop improvement have proved to offer novel alternatives to the existing non-conventional techniques, and detailed information on these aspects is also included. The book’s last five chapters are devoted to presenting the various aspects of environmental, marine, desert and rural biotechnology.

The state-of-the-art coverage on a wide range of plant genomics and biotechnology topics will be of great interest to post-graduate students and researchers, including the employees of seed and biotechnology companies, and to instructors in the fields of plant genetics, breeding and biotechnology.

Dr. Bir Bahadur, born 5 April 1938, studied at City College, Hyderabad, for 5 years including an Intermediate Course (Osmania University) and graduated from Nizam College and postgraduated from University College, Osmania University, both in the first division. He obtained his Ph.D. in Plant Genetics from Osmania University. He was closely associated with late Prof. J.B.S. Haldane, F.R.S., a renowned British geneticist who encouraged him to study heterostyly and incompatibility in Indian plants, a subject first studied by Charles Darwin.

He made significant contributions in several areas, especially heterostyly, incompatibility, plant genetics, mutagenesis, plant tissue culture and biotechnology, morphogenesis, application of SEM in botanical research, plant asymmetry, plant morphology and anatomy, and lately biofuel plants Jatropha and castor.                                 

He served as Lecturer and Reader at Osmania University, Hyderabad, and as Reader and Professor at Kakatiya University, Warangal. He also served as Head of Department; Chairman, Board of Studies; Dean, Faculty of Science; and Co-ordinating Officer/Dean UGC Affairs at Kakatiya University. He has over 40 years of teaching and over 50 years of research experience. He has supervised 29 Ph.D. students and 3 M.Phil. students in both these universities and has published about 250 research papers/reviews which are well received and cited in national and international journals, textbooks and reference books.

He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Genetics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, and worked on mutagenesis and chromosome replication in Rhizobium. He is a recipient of the direct award from the Royal Society Bursar, London. He also worked at Birmingham University (UK). He was conferred with the title of Honorary Research Fellow by the Birmingham University. He studied species differentiation in wild and cultivated solanums using interspecific hybridization and the enzyme-etched seeds technique in combination with scanning electron microscopy to assess the relationship among various Solanum species. At the invitation of the Royal Society, he visited Oxford University, Leeds University, Reading University and London University, including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and various research labs. He was invited for international conferences by the US Science Foundation at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, and the University of Texas, Houston (USA), and at the SABRO international conference at Szukoba, Japan. He has extensively visited most countries of Eastern and Western Europe as well as Tanzania and the Middle East.

He has authored/edited ten books. One of his important books is entitled Jatropha, Challenges for a New Energy Crop, Vol. 1 and 2, published by Springer, New York, USA, 2013, jointly edited with Dr. M. Sujatha and Dr. Nicolas Carels. These books are considered significant contributions to bioenergy in recent times. He was Chief Editor, Proceedings of Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences, Hyderabad, and Executive Editor, Journal of Palynology (Lucknow).

He is the recipient of the Best Teacher Award by the Andhra Pradesh Government for mentoring thousands of students in his teaching career spanning over 40 years.  He was honoured with Prof. Vishwamber Puri, Medal of Indian Botanical Society for his original contributions in various aspects of plant sciences. He has been honoured with the Bharat Jyoti Award at New Delhi for outstanding achievements and sustained contributions in the fields of education and research. He has been listed as one of the 39 prominent alumni of City College, a premier institution with a long history of about 90 years as per the latest update on its website. He has been chosen for distinguished standing and has been conferred with an Honorary Appointment to the Research Board of Advisors by the Board of Directors, Governing Board of Editors and Publications Board of the American Biographical Institute, USA.

He is a fellow of over a dozen professional bodies in India and abroad, including the following: Fellow of the Linnean Society, London; Chartered Biologist and Fellow of the Institute of Biology, London. Presently, he is an Independent Board of Director of Sri Biotech Laboratories India Ltd., Hyderabad, India.

Dr. Manchikatla Venkat Rajam is currently Professor and Head, Department of Genetics, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi, India. He obtained his Ph.D. in Botany (1983) from Kakatiya University, Warangal, India. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the prestigious Yale University, New Haven (1984–1985), and also worked at BTI (Cornell University, Ithaca) for a couple of months as a visiting research associate. At Yale University, his work led to the discovery of a new method for the control of fungal plant infections through selective inhibition of fungal polyamine biosynthesis. This novel method has been adapted by several research groups globally for the control of a variety of fungal infections, and a large number of research articles have been published in this line of work. He returned to India to join as Pool Officer (CSIR) and worked for about 2 years (1986–1987) at Kakatiya University. Subsequently, he joined the University of Delhi South Campus, where he has been on the faculty since 1987. He had worked in ICGEB, New Delhi, for 6 months as a National Associate of DBT (1994). He made several short visits to various countries, including France, Italy, China and Indonesia, under the collaborative projects supported by the EU and Indo-French. He is a Fellow of the prestigious Indian National Science Academy (FNA), National Academy of Sciences, India (FNASc); National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (FNAAS); Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences (FAPAS); and Association of Biotechnology and Pharmacy (FABAP) and is an elected member of the Plant TissueCulture Association, India, since 1995. He was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation Biotech Career Fellowship in 1998 (but could not avail it); the ‘Shiksha Rattan Puraskar’ by the India International Friendship Society in 2011; Department of Biotechnology National Associateship in 1994; and National Scholarship for Study Abroad (Government of India) in 1984 and for Research in 1985 by the Rotary International Club of Hyderabad. He is serving as an Associate Editor and member of the editorial board of several reputed journals, including BMC Biotechnology and the OMICS journal Cell and Developmental Biology, and is a member of the advisory or other committees of some universities, institutions as well as other bodies. He has guided 28 Ph.D. students, 7 M.Phil. students and over 22 postdoctoral fellows and has published over 120 papers (80 research articles in peer-reviewed journals, 15 review articles, 20 book chapters and general articles). He has one Indian patent to his credit. He has vast experience in plant biotechnology and RNA interference and has handled over 22 major projects in these areas.

Dr. Leela Sahijram is currently Principal Scientist, Division of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore, India, and heading the Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory. She obtained her M.Sc. in Botany (Plant Physiology) with distinction from Osmania University, Hyderabad, India (1976), and Ph.D. in Plant Physiology (1983) from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India. She was deputed under the USAID Programme to the University of California at Davis, USA (1992), for plant transformation. She has also undergone training in bioinformatics at IISR, Calicut, India (2003). She has published several papers in national and international journals and has guided students for their master’s and doctoral degree programmes. She was identified by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), New Delhi, for training on ‘Biotechnology and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)’ at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore (2003). She attended a residential course on ‘Creative Writing in Agriculture’ at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi (2011).

 

Her team pioneered the micropropagation of banana (globally, the leading tissue-culture-propagated fruit crop), which has spawned a multibillion-dollar industry worldwide. In 1990, she successfully demonstrated over 20 choice clones of banana from across India to be ‘micropropagatable’, including cultivars of the Cavendish Group. She was member of the Task Force for the rehabilitation of Nanjangud Rasabale (Pride of Karnataka) syn. Rasthali, ‘Silk’ group – a clone threatened with extinction. She has also worked extensively on micropropagation and ‘specific pathogen free’ (SPF) plantlet production through meristem culture/micrografting in crops like citrus, caladium, bougainvillea and chrysanthemum, besides bananas and plantains. She specializes in hybrid embryo rescue in perennial horticultural crops (intergeneric/interspecific/intervarietal crosses), particularly in fruit crops, namely mango, seedless grapes/citrus, banana and papaya. In 2000–2001, she pioneered hybrid embryo culture and ex vitro grafting in controlled crosses of mango.

 

She was conferred with Dr. Vikram Govind Prasad Award 1999–2000 for research on molecular diagnostics of viruses in micropropagated bananas. She was also honoured with the Horticultural Society of India Award 2006–2007 for research on hybrid embryo rescue in seedless grapes and with the Rashtriya Sanman Award 2007 for developing biotechnologies for horticultural crops. She has been editing the Journal of Horticultural Sciences, an international journal, for the past 9 years, as a Founder Editor. She has also edited a book entitled Biotechnology in Horticultural and Plantation Crops. She has several book chapters in national andinternational publications to her credit. She is the author of many technical and semi-technical popular articles and a laboratory manual, besides having trained hundreds of personnel from development departments for setting up commercial plant tissue culture laboratories. She has travelled widely.

Dr. K.V. Krishnamurthy is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Trans-Disciplinary Health Science and Technology (IHST), Bangalore, India, and offering consultancy services in Ayurvedic Pharmacognosy. He obtained his M.Sc. in Botany with University First Rank from Madras University, Chennai, in 1966 and Ph.D. in Developmental Plant Anatomy from the same university in 1973. After a brief stint in government colleges in Tamil Nadu, he joined the present Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, in 1977 and became a Full Professor in 1989. He has an overall teaching and research experience of more than 47 years and has guided 32 Ph.D. scholars, more than 50 M.Phil. scholarsand hundreds of master’s degree holders. He has published more than 180 research papers and 25 books including Methods in Cell Wall Cytochemistry (CRC Press, USA) and a textbook on biodiversity (Science Publishers, USA), Bioresources of Eastern Ghats: Their Conservation and Management (with Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun). His major research areas include plant morphology and morphogenesis, biodiversity, wood science, cytochemistry, plant reproductive biology and ecology, tissue culture, and herbal medicine and pharmacognosy. He has operated more than 15 major research projects so far. He has been a Fulbright Visiting Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1993 and has visited and lectured in various universities in the UK in 1989. His outstanding awards and recognitions include the following: INSA  Lecture Award 2011; Prof. A Gnanam Endowment Lecture Award 2010; President 2007, Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy; Prof. V. Puri Award 2006by the Indian Botanical Society; Rashtriya Gaurav Award 2004 by India International Friendship Society, New Delhi; Scientist  of  the  Year  Award  2001  by the National  Environmental  Science Academy, New Delhi; Tamil Nadu State Scientist Award 1997–1998 in the Field of Environmental Science; Dr. V.V. Sivarajan Gold Medal Award by the Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy for Field Study in the year 1997–1998; Prof. Todla Ekambaram Endowment Lecture Award, Madras University, 1997; Prof. G.D. Arekal Endowment Lecture Award, Mysore University, 1997–1998; Prof. V.V. Sivarajan Endowment Lecture Award, Calicut University, 1997; Prof. Rev. Fr. Balam Memorial Lecture Award, 1997; the 1984 Prof. Hiralal Chakraborty Award instituted by the Indian Science Congress in recognition of the significant contributions made to the science of botany, 1960; Dr. Pulney Andy Gold Medal awarded by Madras University as University First in M.Sc. Botany, 1966; Dr. Todla Ekambaram Prize awarded by MadrasUniversity for standing first in M.Sc. Plant Physiology, 1966; The Maharaja of Vizianagaram Prize awarded by Presidency College, Madras, for outstanding postgraduate student in science, 1965–1966; and Prof. Fyson Prize awarded by Presidency College, Madras, for the best plant collection and herbarium, 1965–1966. He has been a fellow of the following: Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences of India (FNASc); Fellow of the Linnean Society, London (FLS); Fellow of Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy (FIAT); Fellow of International Association of Wood Anatomists, Leiden; Fellow of the Plant Tissue Culture Association of India; and Fellow of the Indian Botanical Society. He has been the Editor and editorial member of many journals in and outside India and has also been reviewer of research articles for many journals. He has also served in various committees, the major funding organizations of India and several universities of India. He has been the Registrar and Director, Collegeand Curriculum Development Council; Member of Syndicate and Senate; Coordinator of the School of Life Sciences and Environmental Sciences; Head of the Department of Plant Sciences; and a Visiting Professor in the Department of Bioinformatics at Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli before assuming the present job after retirement.