Explain the role of biotechnology in conservation and utilization.
Answers
Hey,
Biological diversity provides the variety of life on the earth and agricultural diversity forms a part
of it. Agricultural biodiversity refers to the variability among and between all forms of life relevant
to food and agriculture. The Indian subcontinent is recognized as one of the important centres of
origin of crop plants. There are around 811 plant species under cultivation in India with more than
900 wild relatives which are distributed over different biogeographic regions of the country. However, rapid genetic erosion of the species and surrounding ecosystem due to various factors is a big
threat to this diversity. Biodiversity conservation is a global concern and all the member states of
the Convention on Biological Diversity are taking measures to preserve both native and agricultural biodiversity. Biotechnological tools are proving valuable for effective and efficient conservation
efforts of agricultural plant genetic resources. Among the various applications available, tissue
culture, molecular marker technology, establishment of DNA banks and genotypic database for
various crops and accessions have been delineated in this paper.
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