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Biotech Facilities
Main thrust of activities
The overall objectives of this scheme is to promote establishment of repositories for conservation/preservation of living organisms including microbes both useful and harmful in agriculture, human health, animal husbandry and bioindustries as well as establish sophisticated biotech facilities for research, training, services including supply of reagents/ materials.
Achievements
National Facility For Marine Cyanobacteria, Bharatidasan University, Tiruchirapalli
Objectives
Survey of the entire coast line of India to understand the marine cyanobacterial biodiversity and establishment of a germplasm collection of marine cyanobacteria and basic for applied research.
Achievements
- Extensive survey resulted in 120 species- 115 from Nicobar and 112 from Lakswadeep and their molecular and biochemical characterization
- Leads in terms of isolation of bioflocculant , alcohol dehydrogenase , anti-coagulant factor from some species of cyanobacteria
- Promising marine cyanobacteria for the declourization and degradation of the recalcitrant pigment melanoidin in molasses based distillery effluent and textile dye and biotransformation of nitrile to amide by nitralase activity has been identified
- 5 training workshops in cyanobacteriology.
- MoU with M/S ABL Biotechnologies Ltd Chennai for transferring technologies on aquaculture feed and blue pigment for food industry
Tissue Culture & Cryopreservation Repository at NBPGR, New Dellhi
Objectives
This facility was launched to explore and develop modern techniques of tissue culture, cryopreservation and molecular biology for conservation and genetic characterization of those species difficult to conserve by conventional means.
Achievements
In vitro conservation of over 2 dozen crops (45 plant species) of both tropical and temperate nature:
A total of 1107 accessions of various priority crops were maintained under short- to medium- term storage as in vitro cultures. and are sub cultured at 6-24 months intervals.
In vitro exchange and multiplication services were rendered to several organizations and research workers on request basis.
Germplasm of orthodox seed species was augmented in the cryobank following establishment of cryopreservation protocols.
Repository of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants at CIMAP, Lucknow
Objectives
Collection of germ plasm and extracts from different sources to develop a live bank of cultivars of medicinal and aromatic plants, biological activity testing of chemical constituents of medicinal and aromatic plants using microbes, insects and animal cell lines.
Achievements
A repository of 303 pure compounds and 461 plant extracts from more than 80 medicinal and aromatic plant species has been maintained in the repository to serve as a reference material.
A marker 2-D fingerprint chromatograms of over 120 extracts of different plant materials have been generated using HPTLC and are maintained to serve as authentic reference of medicinal and aromatic plants.
A wide variety of services ranging from the meeting the request for seeds, reference chemicals, analysis of chemicals and extracts, plant identification and technical information have been provided to benefit R&D laboratories.
Animal House Facility at CDRI, Lucknow and NIN , Hyderabad
Objectives
Breeding and supply of genetically standardized, health monitored and nutritionally sound laboratory animals required by this institute as well as other institutes/universities throughout the country.
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