Genetic Transformation of Blackgram

Ms.Geetashree Bora has obtained her M.Sc.(Agril.Biotechnology) degree from AAU, Jorhat, Assam. Presently working as a Ph.D scholar in DRDO Lab(Tezpur)in the field of plant biotechnology. So far she has attended three national, one international seminars, one CEP and ISCA 2012, She has qualified ARS-NET (thrice) and is a life time member of ISCA.

Blackgram is an important pulse crop of India after chickpea and pigeonpea. Despite the wide economic importance, production has been stagnating owing largely to various biotic and abiotic stresses. 2,4-D [(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid], a post emergence translocated herbicide is an inexpensive control measure against broadleaf weeds. But foliar application is limited as the crop itself is broad leaved. Conventional methods are limited owing to narrow genetic base of the crop and non availability of resistant germplasm. Legume improvement through genetic engineering provides new hopes in improving them, especially for the development of 2,4 D resistant lines. Agrobacterium mediated genetic tranformation is one of the most successful genetic engineering tool for development of transgenic plants. 2,4-D resistant ( tfdA ) gene encoding the enzyme 2,4-D dioxygenase, has been proved to confer resistance against this broad spectrum herbicide 2,4 D This book highlights the importance of Agrobacterium mediated genetic transformation via tissue culture technique to obtain transgenic Blackgram that is resistant against broadspectrum herbicide 2,4-D.