Executive Summary : | Makhana (Euryale ferox Salisbury) is one of the important aquatic food crop cultivated mainly in Bihar and eastern parts of India. It is still an underutilized and neglected food crop, probably due to limitations of suitable improved germplasms and lack of awareness among the rural people. Though some information is available on agronomical, post-harvest and ethno-botanical aspects of this plant, but there is very little information about its genetic improvement. Profitable Makhana cultivation is mostly constrained by inconsistent and low yields, vulnerability to insects, pests, and diseases, and a lack of genetic diversity. Genetic improvement of this food crop is now a main goal for its high productivity. Conventional breeding methods as well as biotechnological approaches have been adopted for enhancing its productivity. Makhana is a totally self-pollinating plant, and the fertilization of flowers occurs under the surface of the water at a very early (hermetically sealed) stage which limits its improvement through conventional breeding methods. Biotechnological techniques thus, appear to be the only alternative and time effective approaches wherein tissue culture will be the most significant in attaining the above objectives. Primary efforts on lab culture of this food crops have failed on account of the fact that seeds are inherently contaminated with microorganisms that simply propagate in the medium as well. In vitro plant regeneration methods offer a prevailing technique for conservation of germplasm, micropropagation of uniform and stable plants and transgenic plant development. There is not a single report on micropropagation of this nutritious food crop around the world. Considering the above points, the objective of the present investigation is to develop in vitro regeneration protocol, evaluation of genetic stability and analysis of nutritional value in vitro raised plants. |