Introduction

Biological Diversity (CBD) defines biotechnology as:

"any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use".

The FAO Glossary of biotechnology defines biotechnology broadly as in the CBD and narrowly as “a range of different molecular technologies such as gene manipulation and gene transfer, DNA typing and cloning of plants and animals” (FAO, 2001a)

Potential of biotechnology for sustainable agriculture and rural development

• Apomixis, an asexual technology of plant reproduction that can provide economic incentives to replant harvested seeds;

• Micropropagation and plant tissue culture technology (e.g., to generate disease-free plantlets of vegetatively propagated staple crops, such as cassava, potato, sweet potato, taro, bananas and plantains);

• Improved fermentation technologies;

• Improved technologies for generating biomass-derived energy;

• Generation of higher nutrient levels (e.g., pro-vitamin A, iron, essential amino acids) in nutrient-deficient staple crops, such as rice;

• Marker-assisted-selection strategies for improving agronomic traits in animal and plant varieties/breeds, including yield potential;

• Development of genotypes with abiotic stress tolerance (e.g., aluminium and manganese tolerant crops which can grow in acidic soils, salt tolerance, drought tolerance);

Fig :  Strawberry

  Benefits:

• Crop yield
• Reduced vulnerability of crops to environmental stresses
• Increased nutritional qualities
• Reduced dependence on fertilizers, pesticides and other agrochemicals
• Improved taste, texture or appearance of food
• Production of Novel substances in crop plant

   Present Status Of Plant Biotechnology in Bangladesh:

•     Micropropagation of ornamental, medicinal, timber and fruit plants. e.g. Banana.
•       In vitro microtuber production in potato.
•       Improvement of jute and wheat using breeding and in vitro techniques.
•       Agrobacterium mediate transformation in lentil and peanut for fungus resistance.
•       Genetic improvement of jute with the objective of generating molecular markers linked to specific traits.
•       Development of a genetic map of jute.
•       Transformation of rice gene for salinity tolerance.
•       DNA marker to help breeding for tolerance in rice.