Meristem Gene Banks

Meristem Gene Banks

  • Germplasm of asexually propagated species can be conserved in the form of meristems. This method is widely used for conservation and propagation of horticultural species. In vitro method can be used in two ways.
    a. Storage of tissues under slow growth conditions.
    b. Long term conservation of germplasm by cryopreservation. In cryopreservation, the tissues are stored at a very low temperature i.e. at -1960C in liquid nitrogen.
    Gene banks for various crops in India

    Crop species

    Location of Gene bank

    Name of Research institute/Centre

    Wheat

    Karnal

    Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR)

    Rice

    Cuttack

    Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI)

    Potato

    Shimla

    Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI)

    Cotton

    Nagpur

    Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR)

    Pulses

    Kanpur

    Indian Institute for Pulses Research (IIPR)

    Oilseed crops

    Hyderabad

    Directorate of Oilseed Research (DOR)

    Sorghum

    Hyderabad

    National Research Centre for Sorghum

    Soybean

    Indore

    National Research Centre for Soybean

  • Based on status of Research Institutes, gene banks are again of two types,
  • National gene banks are maintained by each country and global gene banks are located in International Crop Research Institutes/Centres. In India, gene banks are maintained by concerned Crop Research Institutes of ICAR. National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi is also maintaining germplasm of various field Crops.
  • Germplasm can also be conserved in the form of pollen and DNA. However, these methods are not in common use. Conservation of germplasm in the form of DNA is a difficult task as it requires sophisticated laboratory and became expensive.
Last modified: Monday, 12 March 2012, 12:34 PM