Plant Tissue Culture

Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine

Jammu

Plant Tissue Culture Group

Biodiversity & Applied Botany Division

Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory at Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu is dedicated to advance the knowledge and application of plant development in controlled environments. The overall objective of our research programs is to develop in vitro technologies for exploitation of tissue cultures for the plant based medicines and the conservation of High Altitude plant species of Medicinal Value while expanding our knowledge of plant growth and development

Research Activities

·  Plant Bioactive Metabolites production in vitro :

·  Developing Advanced Micropropagation technology : Bioreactor technology as high tech propagation system for high value Medicinal & Aromatic plants

·  Novel chemotype designing /genetic improvement in selected opportunity MAPs crops

·  Conservation Biotechnology:

Developing Ex situ strategies for conservation

Conservation through mass cloning using tissue culture approaches

·  Biochemical and molecular characterization of High Altitude Medicinal and Aromatic plants

·  Assessment of Genetic Fidelity of tissue culture raised plants based on DNA markers

Projects Undertaken

·  Exploratory studies on climate change and Adaptation of species complexes (NWP-020)

·  Rural Development Programme: Cultivation of MAPs (CSIR Net-Wkg RSP-0028)

·  NHB Sponsored R&D Project on Monarda citriodora (GAP-1125)

Developing Tissue culture procedure &

Multiplication of elite clone adopting in vitro approaches

·  Resourcing of biomolecules from medicinal plants,microflora Including higher fungi (MLP 3008)

·  Feasibility study on production of LL-4218 in cell cultures of Argemone mexicana (SSP-305)

·  Feasibility studies on cultivation of shoot Biomass of Swertia chirata in bioreactors (Industry sponsored)

·  Developing Cell and Tissue Engineering - Plants sponsored by CSIR Net-working project, CSIR, India (2002-2007)

·  Development of Technologies for Pathway Engineering of Withania somnifera, sponsored by NMITLI, CSIR, India (2003-2007)

·  Micropropagation of Swertia chirata- an endangered medicinal plant through tissue culture techniques, sponsored by DBT, Govt of India ( 1998-2002)

·  Development of Hardening facility for acclimatization of tissue cultured medicinal plants, sponsored by DBT, Govt of India (1999-2002)

·  Establishment of Gene Bank for Conservation of Medicinal Plants of NW Himalayas, sponsored by DBT, Govt of India Phase I &II (1999-2007)

·  Refinement of Technology for Micropropagation of Saffron, sponsored by DBT, Govt of India ( 1998-2002)

·  Saffron Tissue Culture Studies for the development of an efficient regeneration system and its genetic improvement, sponsored by DBT, Govt. of India ( 1993-1971)

Current Research Activities

·  Developing Plant fermentation as Technology for production of plant bioactives

§  Focus: High cost-Low volume therapeutic Molecules-Anticancer, Immuno supressive molecules

§  Design, development and applications of bioreactors for plant bioactives production using plant cell and tissue cultures

·  Novel chemotype desiging through induction & exploitation of variability in vitro in opportunity MAPs crops for developing commercial cultivars rich in value added biomolecules

·  Value additions through biotransformation utilizing plant cell suspension culture system