DISTRIBUTION OF GENETIC RICHNESS

THERE IS A HISTORICAL DISPROPORTION IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF PLANT SPECIES. THOSE THAT ARE NOW CALLED AS INDUSTRIALIZED, DEVELOPED NORTH COUNTRIES ARE HISTORICALLY GENE POOR. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE DEVELOPING SOUTH COUNTRIES ARE GENE RICH COUNTRIES. TILL SOME CENTURIES AGO, MUCH OF THE PLANT DIVERSITY WAS CONCENTRATED BETWEEN THE TWO TROPICS, WITH A VERY FEW PLANT SPECIES IN THE CONTINENTAL EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA.

OVER THE YEARS, THE PRESENT DAY DEVELOPED COUNTRIES HAVE NOT ONLY SUCCEEDED IN ACCLIMATIZING PLANT SPECIES FOR FOOD, FIBRE AND MEDICINAL NEEDS, BUT ALSO IMPROVED THEIR PRODUCTIVITY. DEVELOPING COUNTRIES CONTRIBUTE 96 PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S TONNAGE IN FOOD THROUGH INTER DEPENDENCE AMONG REGIONS OF GENETIC DIVERSITY AND REGIONS OF CROP PRODUCTIVITY.

THE WILD FORESTS CONTAIN A TREMENDOUS VARIETY OF BIODIVERSITY AND ECONOMICALLY USEFUL PLANTS. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF VARIETIES OF POTATOES, SWEET POTATOES, RICE, WITH UNEXPLORED GENETIC ABILITIES TO ADJUST TO NEW CLIMATES AND TO RESIST VARIOUS DISEASES. MOST OF THE CURRENTLY HIGH YIELDING RICE CULTIVARS HAVE BEEN MADE DISEASE RESISTANT BY THE TRANSFER OF RESISTANT GENES OBTAINED FROM AN INDIAN WILD RICE ORYZA NIVARA. HAD THIS ONE WILD INDIAN RICE BECOME EXTINCT BEFORE THE DISCOVERY OF ITS RESISTANT GENE, THE LOSS TO WOULD HAVE RUN INTO BILLIONS OF RUPEES PER YEAR THAT WOULD HAVE GONE ON PESTICIDES TO KILL THE PESTS.  WILD WHEAT HAS INCREASED THE PRODUCTION OF WHEAT TO THE TUNE OF 50 MILLION US DOLLARS ANNUALLY. A GENE FROM AN ETHIOPIAN BARLEY FOR RESISTANCE AGAINST YELLOW DWARF VIRUS HAS RESULTED IN THE SALE OF WHEAT GAINING 160 MILLION US DOLLARS ANNUALLY.

BIODIVERSITY AS A SOURCE OF MEDICINE

BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN USED TO CURE DISEASE SINCE ANCIENT PERIODS OF HUMAN HISTORY. IN INDIA HERBAL REMEDIES ARE USED FOR EVERYDAY HOME CURES. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN MOST MEDICINAL COMPOUNDS CAME FROM PLANTS; THE POTENT HEART STIMULANT FROM FOXGLOVE AND OPIUM FROM THE POPPY PLANT. SINCE OVER PAST FIFTY YEARS, CHEMISTRY TOOK OVER FROM BOTANY WITH MOST NEW DRUGS BEING SYNTHESIZED IN PHARMACEUTICAL LABS. NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN PLANT TECHNOLOGY MAY SOON REVERSE THIS TREND. RESEARCHERS ARE WORKING TOWARDS MAKING PLANT-BASED VACCINES WOULD LIKELY BE CHEAPER AND EASY TO ADMINISTER.

THE INDIGENOUS TRIBES OF THE NORTHEASTERN STATES OF INDIA HAVE ALMOST 47 PER CENT OF FOREST COVER WHICH CONTAIN AN AMAZINGLY WIDE RANGE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS.

ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR PLANTS IN MEGHALAYA RAUVOLFIA SERPENTINA WHICH IS USED FOR REDUCING BLOOD PRESSURE, ACTS AS A TRANQUILIZER AND IS USED LOCALLY AS AN ANTIDOTE FOR SNAKE BITE. THE OIL OF THE TARAKTOGENOS KURTZII PLANT IS USED FOR THE TREATMENT OF LEPROSY. THE ROOT OF RAUVOLFIA CANESENCE AND THE LEAVES OF THE TABERNAMONTANA ARE USED TO CURE HEART AILMENTS. THE LEAVES OF TAXUS RACATA ARE EFFECTIVE AGAINST CANCER OF THE STOMACH.

IN 1785, A BRITISH PHYSICIAN ,WILLIAM WITHERING REPORTED THAT INGESTION OF DRIED LEAVES FROM THE FOXGLOVE PLANT EASED DROPSY, AN ACCUMULATION OF FLUID KNOWN TO BE  CAUSED BY HEART'S FAILURE TO PUMP ADEQUATELY DIGITALIS IS USED FOR CARDIAC PATIENTS. TODAY TWO OF ITS COMPONENTS- THE GLYCOSIDES DIGOXIN AND DIGITOXIN ARE WIDELY PRESCRIBED TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD. EXPLORATIONS MADE IN THE MEDICINAL USES OF PLANTS BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN REMOTE PARTS OF THE WORLD ALONG WITH INTRODUCTION OF SOPHISTICATED ASSAYS ABLE TO DETERMINE WHETHER PLANTS EXERT A BIOLOGICAL EFFECT; HAS FACILITATED THE DISCOVERY OF BIOACTIVE MOLECULES MADE BY MEDICINAL PLANTS. SOME OF THESE MOLECULES PROMISE POSSIBLE THERAPIES FOR A RANGE OF DISEASES, INCLUDING, AIDS AND CANCER.

EFFORTS MADE BY MAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF BIODIVERSITY

THE GROWING NEEDS OF THE EXPANDING POPULATION OF THE WORLD, FOR MORE FOOD AND RAW MATERIALS HAVE MOTIVATED MAN TO SEARCH FOR WAYS AND MEANS TO TAP VARIOUS SOURCES TO ENSURE A STEADY  SUPPLY OF FOOD AND OTHER RESOURCES. OLD TECHNOLOGIES LIKE FERMENTATION, PLANT, BREEDING, ETC., IS GIVING WAY TO MODERN TECHNOLOGIES LIKE BIOTECHNOLOGY, TISSUE CULTURE,ETC. THE APPLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES IN PROCESSING OF MATERIALS BY BIOLOGICAL AGENTS TO PROVIDE GOODS AND SERVICES IS A BROAD CONCERN OF BIOTECHNOLOGY.

PLANT BREEDING AND CROP IMPROVEMENT DEVELOPMENT OF NEW VARIETIES OF CROPS INCLUDES CREATION OF GENETIC VARIATION BY COMBINING DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS IN ONE PLANT AND THEN MULTIPLYING IT. THE PLANT BREEDER MAKES A SELECTION OF PLANTS WITH DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS, CROSSES THEM AND THEN IDENTIFIES THE OFFSPRING THAT COMBINE THE ATTRIBUTES OF BOTH PARENTS. THE PROGENY IS THEN MULTIPLIED TO BE SUPPLIED TO FARMERS, GROWERS AND PLANTERS. CROP IMPROVEMENT IS ACHIEVED THROUGH SUPERIOR HEREDITY.CREATION OF GENETIC VARIATION CAN BE DONE THROUGH THE FOLLOWING METHODS.

• SELECTION  : - THE DIFFERENTIAL REPRODUCTION OF INDIVIDUALS IN A POPULATION .
• HYBRIDIZATION : - THE CROSSING OF TWO VARIETIES SPECIES OR GENERA HAVING DESIRED GENES AND BRINGING TOGETHER THE USEFUL CHARACTERS OF THESE INTO ONE PROGENY, THE HYBRID. BOTANISTS GENERALLY USED THE TERM HYBRID TO SPECIALLY REFER TO CROSSES MADE BETWEEN SPECIES BUT GENETICISTS USE THE TERM TO REFER TO INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE HETEROZYGOUS EVEN FOR A SINGLE.
• POLYPLOID BREEDING : - IT OCCURS IN ORGANISMS WHEN THE NUMBER OF COMPLETE CHROMOSOME SETS IS HIGHER THAN TWO.POLYPLOIDY IN SEXUALLY REPRODUCING ORGANISMS MAY ARISE BY THE FERTILIZATION OF AN EGG BY MORE THAN ONE SPERM.
• INDUCED MUTATIONS : - GENE AND CHROMOSOME MUTATIONS MAY BE INDUCED BY SEVERAL MUTAGENS, WHICH ARE ALL FORMS OF ENERGY THAT DISRUPT THE CHEMICAL STRUCTURE  OF CHROMOSOMES, EXAMPLE X-RAYS, UV RAYS, GAMMA  RAYS AND COSMIC RAYS.
• TISSUE CULTURE : - THE ABILITY TO INDUCE MORPHOGENESIS AND REGENERATE WHOLE PLANTS BY CULTURING A FEW CELLS OR TISSUES.
• GENETIC ENGINEERING : - IT COMPRISES POWERFUL TECHNIQUES WHICH THEORETICALLY  ALLOW ANY GENE TO MOVE FROM ONE ORGANISM TO ANOTHER. RECOMBINANT DNA HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TRANSFORM THE GENES INTO A GLOBAL RESOURCES THAT CAN BE USED TO SHAPE NORMAL LIFE FORMS.

 THE GENETIC ENGINEERING IS PROMOTING A TECHNO-CENTRIC VERSION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE WITH INCREASED PRODUCTIVITIES ACHIEVED THROUGH IMPROVED VARIETIES, AS WELL AS DECREASED INPUT COSTS AND DECLINING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS.

LATHROUGH VARIOUS MODERN TECHNIQUES, TODAY THE FARMERS CAN PRODUCE LARGER YIELDS THAT COULD GO A LONG WAY IN MEETING GLOBAL FOOD REQUIREMENTS. PEST RESISTANT VARIETIES OF CROPS WILL PROMISE SUSTAINED PRODUCTIVITY. THE QUALITY OF CROPS CAN BE INCREASED IN POOR SOILS BY USING MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI  THAT ENHANCE MINERAL ABSORPTION BY PLANTS. INTRODUCTION OF QUICK-GROWING VARIETIES OF CROPS HAS NOT ONLY INCREASED PRODUCTION OF CROPS BUT HAS MADE THEM LESS PRONE TO DISEASE AND DAMAGE FROM ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSES. BIOTECHNOLOGY MIGHT HELP COUNTRIES IN DEVELOPING HIGHER YIELDING CROPS THAT ARE ADAPTED TO VARIOUS FARMING CONDITIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS. DROUGHT RESISTANT VARIETIES WILL REDUCE PRESSURE ON SCARCE WATER SUPPLIES. GENETIC MODIFICATION IN PNT CROPS HAS HELPED IN ACHIEVING HIGHER YIELDS AND BETTER QUALITY OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES WITH ENHANCED NUTRITIONAL VALUE , THAT STAY NOT ONLY FRESH FOR LONGER PERIODS BUT TASTE BETTER THROUGH AGRI-HORTICULTURE AND AGRO-BOTANICAL PRACTICES. TODAY OIL CROPS HAVE AN INCREASED IN MONOUNSATURATED AND POLYUNSATURATED FATS FOR BETTER HEALTH IN HUMAN CONSUMPTION.

ADVANCEMENT IN BIOTECHNOLOGY CAN ALSO HELP IN IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF ANIMAL FEED IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THEIR NUTRITION. IT CAN ENSURE BETTER INDUSTRIAL RAW MATERIALS WHICH WILL BE MORE ECO-FRIENDLY AND SAVE THE EARTH FROM HARMFUL ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND POLLUTION , SUCH AS USE OF BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS MADE FROM PLANT STARCHES. DEPENDENCE ON PETROLEUM BY-PRODUCTS CAN BE REDUCED BY USING OILSEED CROPS WHICH COULD PROVIDE NECESSARY RAW MATERIALS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF VARIOUS PRODUCTS LIKE LUBRICANTS, POLYMERS, LINKS, COSMETICS AND PHARMACEUTICALS.

PLANT AND ANIMAL DIVERSITY FOR HUMAN SUSTENANCE

CIVILIZATION TOOK ITS  BIRTH WHEN MAN DISCOVERED  FIRE ALONG WITH HIS ENDEAVOUR TO CULTIVATE CROPS AND TO DOESTICATE ANIMALS FOR AN ASSURED SUSTENANCE. THE GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT OF MAN'S CIVILIZATION CAN BE TRACED TO THE MANAGEMENT OF ASSURED FOOD. SUPPLY BY DELIBERATE PLANTING OF CROPS AND BY HARVESTING AND STORING THE PRODUCE . THE PRESENT DAY CEREALS, GRAINS, LEGUMES(PULSES) OR OILSEED CROPS ARE MAINLY RAISED FOR A SINGLE PURPOSE, THAT IS FOOD. HOWEVER, EARLY HUMANS GREATLY VALUED PLANTS WITH MULTIPLE USES SUCH AS, COCONUT PALM, DATE PALM, BAOBAB, MULBERRY, AGAVES, AND HEMP. THE COCONUT PALM STILL SUPPORTS PEOPLE LIVING IN COASTAL AREAS DUE TO ITS MULTIPLE PURPOSES.

AGRICULTURE ORIGINATED SOME 7,000 TO 13,000 YEARS AGO,SOMEWHERE IN THE INDUS, TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES AND THE NILE RIVER VALLEYS. THE YELLOW RIVER BASIN OF MODERN CHINA AND THE TEHUACAN VALLEY IN MODERN MEXICO ARE THE OTHER PREHISTORIC SITES OF ANCIENT AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY. ALL EARLY CIVILIZATIONS WHOSE DIETS ARE  KNOWN TO US WERE BASED ON SEED PRODUCTION PLANTS SUCH AS WHEAT, MAIZE AND RICE. NEARLY ALL THE PRESENT DAY CROP PLANTS WERE DEVELOPED IN PREHISTORIC TIMES. WILD SPECIES OF PLANTS WERE CULTIVATED, DOMESTICATED AND SELECTIVE PRODUCTION OF THESE SPECIES WAS MADE. THERE ARE OVER 3,000 SPECIES OF FOOD PLANTS KNOWN TO US, OUT OF WHICH ONLY 150 ARE COMMERCIALIZED OR THAT ONLY LESS THAN 20 SPECIES PRODUCE 85 PERCENT OF THE FOOD OUTPUT. DIFFERENT PARTS OF A PLANT ARE USED IN DIFFERENT WAYS AS FOOD. IN GENERAL, THE SEEDS AND FRUITS ARE THE MOST NUTRITIOUS PARTS BUT THE LEAVES STEMS AND ROOTS OF SOME PLANTS ARE ALSO EATEN.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE REVEALS THAT CEREALS ORIGINATED IN THE MOUNTANIOUS REGIONS OF ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA AND SOUTH AMERICA. CEREALS, THE GRAIN PRODUCING PLANTS, ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF OUR DIET. THE TRUE CEREALS ARE ALL MEMBERS OF THE GRASS FAMILY. WITHOUT THESE ESSENTIAL CROPS IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO FEED THE WORLD. WHEAT, CORN AND RICE MAKE UP TWO THIRDS OF THE CARBOHYDRATES WE CONSUME. OTHER CEREALS INCLUDE RYE, OATS, BARELY, SORGHUM, MILLETS.

FROM THE EARLIEST OF TIMES CERTAIN PLANTS HAVE PROVIDED OIL FOR COOKING AND LIGHTING. TODAY A WIDE RANGE OF CROPS ARE GROW N FOR THEIR OIL SUCH AS SOYABEANS, COCONUT SEED, PEANUT, SUNFLOWER, MUSTARD, GRAPE SEED, SESAME, SAFFLOWER AND OIL PALM AND WIDELY USED. THE COMMERCIAL FARMING OF OIL PRODUCING PLANTS RECEIVED A TREMENDOUS BOOST WITH THE INVENTION OF MARGARINE, TOWARDS THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY. DURING THE LAST TWENTY YEARS, VEGETABLE OILS HAVE RECEIVED FURTHER BOOST AS WE BECOME MORE CONSCIOUS OF MAINTAINING OUR HEALTH. IN TROPICAL REGIONS OF AFRICA AND ASIA, ESPECIALLY IN INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA, OIL PALM IS WIDELY CULTIVATED FOR COOKING OIL. THE MEDITERRANEAN REGIONS ARE THE MAIN PRODUCERS OF OLIVE OIL.

ONLY A FEW SELECTED SPECIES OF ANIMALS ARE IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF ANIMALS ARE IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF AGRICULTURE. CATTLE PROVIDE US WITH MORE THAN EIGHT TIMES AS MUCH FOOD IN THE FORM OF MILK THAN IN THE FORM OF MEAT. PIGS ARE THE MOST EFFICIENT MEAT BREEDERS. SHEEP AND GOATS ARE THE MOST VERSATILE LIVESTOCK, PROVIDING MEAT, MILK AND WOOL. POULTRY HAS LONG BEEN A SOURCE OF MEAT AND EGGS. IN TERMS OF INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY, CHICKEN IS THE FASTEST GROWING FOODSTUFF IN THE WORLD AND DOMINATES THE WORLD'S POULTRY POPULATION; 98 PERCENT OF ALL FARMED BIRDS ARE CHICKEN.

FISH REPRESENTS THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF HUMAN FOOD THAT STILL RELIES ON NATURAL FOOD CHAINS. OUR ATTITUDE TO THE SEA IS STILL THAT OF A HUNTER-GATHERER. MODERN FISHING METHODS ARE EXTREMELY EFFICIENT AND OVER FISHING IS NOW THE INDUSTRIES GREATEST PROBLEM. MOST OF THE FISH WE EAT STAND FAIRLY HIGH IN THE IN THE OCEANS FOOD CHAINS. THEY OCCUR IN THE GREATEST NUMBERS IN THE COASTAL WATER WHICH IS WARM AND HENCE PLANT LIFE IS MOST ABUNDANT. THIS AREA ALSO ACCUMULATES RUN-OFF OF NUTRIENTS FROM THE LAND.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES NOT ONLY PROVIDE VARIETY TO OUR DIET BUT ABOUND IN VITAMINS AND MINERALS. SOME FRUITS ARE GROWN FOR SUBSISTENCE, SOME AS STAPLE CROPS LIKE, POTATOES AND CASSAVA, WHILE PINNAPLES AND BANANAS ARE GROWN AS CASH  CROPS AND TURNIPS AS WINTER FEED LIVESTOCK. THE MOST USEFUL VEGETABLES ARE PULSES, ALSO KNOWN AS LEGUMES. THIS IS A GROUP OF PLANTS THAT INCLUDES PEAS, BEANS, LENTILS AND SOYABEANS. THEY PROVIDE MUCH MORE PROTEIN THAN CEREALS AND THEY ALSO PUT BACK NUTRIENTS INTO THE SOIL. FUTURE ADVANCES WILL PROBABLY INVOLVE MAKING USE OF NEW CROPS. THESE INCLUDE THE WINGED BEAN, OF WHICH ALL PARTS CAN BE EATEN. SUGARCANE WAS INTRODUCED INTO AMERICA 300 YEARS AGO AND PRIOR TO THAT HONEY WAS THE MAJOR SOURCE OF SUGAR AND BEES WERE WIDELY KEPT. 66 PER CENT OF THE WORLD'S SUGAR COMES FROM  CANE, THOUGH SUGAR BEET IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT ESPECIALLY IN EUROPE. BROWN SUGAR FROM DATE PALMS AND OTHER PALMS ARE USED FOR LOCAL CONSUMPTION.

 

BIODIVERSITY FOR SUSTENANCE OF MANKIND

FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS HUMANS HAVE DEPENDED ON BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS PLANTS, ANIMALS, AND MICRO-ORGANISMS, FOR FOOD, MEDICINES AND INDUSTRIAL  PRODUCTS.OVER THE YEARS, PARTICULARLY DURING THE LAST FEW DECADES, THIS IMPORTANT CAPITAL STOCK ON WHICH HUMAN LIFE DEPENDS HAS BEEN SUBJECTED TO IRREPLACABLE LOSS. IRONICALLY THESE LOSSES OCCURED, UNNOTICED AND UNAPPRECIATED, BY THE VERY DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESS THAT SOCIETIES ACHIEVED. BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS CAN REPRODUCE, UNLIKE OTHER RESOURCES,BUT WHAT CANNOT BE EASILY REPRODUCED IS THE VARIETY OF LIFE FORMS WHICH ORIGINATE AND ARE SUSTAINED BY A PROCESS OF NATURAL AND SOCIAL SELECTION, AND THEIR INTER-RELATIONSHIPS.

BIODIVERSITY IS ESSENTIAL FOR HUMAN SELF INTEREST, AS HIS OWN SUSTENANCE IS INVOLVED. IT SUSTAINS MAN, BECAUSE ECOSYSTEMS FUNCTION AS THE PLANETARY LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM, RENEWING ATMOSPHERIC OXYGEN AND PLAYING A CENTRAL PART IN THE BIOCHEMICAL CYCLE. THEY ARE THE SOURCE OF FIBRE, FOOD, TIMBER, NATURAL DRUGS AND  OTHER PRODUCTS; THEY CONSERVE SOIL AND THEY SHELTER GENETIC STRAINS TO WHICH CROP BREEDERS CONTINUALLY RETURN IN ORDER TO IMPROVE CULTIVATED VARIETIES.

BIODIVERSITY IN ALL ITS FORMS AND ABUNDANCE PROVIDES FOR THE SUSTENANCE OF MANKIND, BUT, THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE WHEN THE ENVIRONMENT SUFFERS FROM VARIOUS KINDS OF POLLUTION AND DEGRADATION. THE OZONE DEPLETION HAS LED TO ENHANCED UV-B RADIATIONS WHICH NOT ONLY KILL SMALLER LIFE FORMS BUT ALSO AFFECT THE GENES OF PLANTS, ANIMALS AND MAN.