Transforming Plant Biology to Translational Research Applications - National Botanical Research Institute

Understanding the structural and functional fabric of plant life is a major facet of plant science research. In the face of several unprecedented challenges, including the impending issues of climate change, environmental pollution, biodiversity loss, genetic erosion, malnutrition and diseases, plant science demands a synthetic and systems approach to find affordable solutions to the above challenges. The challenge before plant biologists is, therefore, not limited only to discovering and documenting the diversity in plants, fungi and microbes, but also in identifying the useful properties in them. A premier plant science research centre under the patronage of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Lucknow-based National Botanical Research Institute (CSIR-NBRI) is known for its excellence in enriching the knowledge base on plant diversity of India and its systematic documentation, conservation and sustainable utilization through traditional and advanced biotechnological approaches. CSIR-NBRI has a wholesome expertise in plant biodiversity, biotechnology and bioinformatics. The Institute has developed technologies and knowhow for the preparation of a number of value-added herbal products as well as microbial technologies for the development of biofertilzers, bioinoculants and biopesticides. Its translational research on microbial consortia- based bio-inoculants, executed along with the Directorate of Agricultural Research, Govt of Uttar Pradesh won the prestigious CSIR S&T Award for Rural Development for the year 2011.