Post Graduate in Plant Biotechnology

Students will get detailed idea about genome organization in plants, basic
techniques in tissue culture and its applications .Genetic transformations in plants and
metabolic engineering and industrial products.
Objective: To provide various techniques and aspects regarding Plant biotechnology.
Goal: This paper has been designed to give the students comprehensive coaching in the
field of plant biotechnology that benefit for agricultural production, the environment
human nutrition and health.
UNIT - I
Genome organization in plants: Nucleus, Chloroplast and Mitochondria, Molecular
Marker-aided Breeding: RFLP maps, linkage analysis, RAPD markers, STS,
Microsatellites, SCAR (Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions), SSCP (Single
Strand Conformational Polymorphism), AFLP, QTL, map based cloning, molecular
marker assisted selection.
UNIT - II
Cell and Tissue Culture in Plants: Tissue culture media (composition and preparation),
Callus and suspension culture; Somaclonal variation; Micropropagation; Organogenesis;
Somatic embryogenesis; transfer and establishment of whole plants in soil; green house
technology. Embryo culture and embryo rescue. Artificial seeds. Protoplast fusion and
somatic hybridization; cybrids; anther, pollen and ovary culture for production of haploid
plants. Cryopreservation and DNA banking for germplasm conservation.
UNIT - III
Plant Genetic Transformation: Features of Ti and Ri plasmids and its use as vectors,
binary vectors, viral vectors, 35S and other promoters, use of reporter genes and marker
genes, Gene transfer methods in plants: direct and indirect DNA transfer. Chloroplast
transformation and its advantages. Transgene stability and gene silencing.
UNIT - IV
Application of Plant Transformation: Herbicide resistance: phosphoinothricin,
glyphosate, sufonyl urea and atrazine. Insect resistance: Bt genes, non-Bt genes like
protease inhibitors, alpha amylase inhibitor. Disease resistance: chitinase, 1,3-beta
glucanase, RIP, antifungal proteins, thionins, PR proteins; Virus resistance: coat protein
mediated, nucleocapsid gene. Nematode resistance. Abiotic stress: Drought, cold and salt.
Post-harvest losses: long shelf life of fruits and flowers, use of ACC synthase,
polygalacturanase, ACC oxidase, male sterile lines, bar and barnase systems,
carbohydrate composition and storage, ADP glucose pyrophosphatase, RNAi and
Reverse genetics.
UNIT - V
Metabolic Engineering and Industrial Products: Plant secondary metabolites, control
mechanisms and manipulation of phenylproponoid pathway, shikimate pathway;
alkaloids, industrial enzymes, biodegradable plastics, polyhydroxybutyrate, therapeutic
proteins, lysosomal enzymes, antibodies, edible vaccines, purification strategies, oleosin
partitioning technology. Phytoremediation. Plant host-insect interactions. nif and nod
genes.