World’s 1st GM rubber sapling:
World’s first genetically modified (GM) rubber sapling was recently planted at the Rubber Board’s Sarutari research farm on the outskirts of Guwahati in Assam.
- It was developed at the Kerala-based Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII).
- With additional copies of the gene MnSOD (manganese-containing superoxide dismutase) inserted in it, the GM rubber is expected to tide over the severe cold conditions during winter, which is a major factor affecting the growth of rubber saplings.
- MnSOD gene used in the GM rubber was taken from the rubber plant itself.
