Assam: The world’s first-ever genetically modified rubber plant has been planted on the outskirts of Guwahati by the Chairman and Executive Director of the Rubber Board, KN Raghavan. It was developed at the Kerala-based Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) through long years of research at its biotechnology laboratory.

Raghavan said that the GM rubber plant, the first of its kind developed exclusively for this region, is expected to grow well under the climatic conditions of the mountainous northeast region. He said that the genetically modified rubber plant would be a game-changer in natural rubber cultivation in India, with additional copies of the gene MnSOD (manganese-containing superoxide dismutase) inserted in it.

"Laboratory studies conducted at the RRII in Kerala's Kottayam showed that GM rubber plants over-expressed the MnSOD gene as expected, offering protection to the cells. Therefore, it is expected that the GM rubber plants will grow fast here," Raghavan said.  “This is the first time any GM crop has been developed exclusively for this region after years of painstaking research in RRII’s biotechnology laboratory,” he added.

According to the physician-turned-Indian Revenue Service officer, the growth of young rubber remains suspended during the winter months, which are also characterised by progressive drying of the soil.

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