World's Second Largest Refurbished Gene Bank Inaugurated

Context

Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister has inaugurated the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, Pusa, New Delhi.

 

                               Image source: Indiaclimaedialogue

Gene Bank

• The Gene Bank was established in 1996 to preserve the seeds of Plant Genetic Resources for future generations.
• It has the capacity to preserve about ten lakh germplasm in the form of seeds.

• Gene banks are repositories where biological material is collected, stored, catalogued and made available for redistribution.
• The main role of plant gene banks is to preserve genetic diversity, in the form of seeds or cuttings in the case of plants reproduced vegetatively, and subsequently make this material, together with associated information, available for future use in research and plant breeding.
• Gene banks are sometimes also referred to as an ex-situ conservation facility (because biological materials are conserved outside their natural habitat).