In a step toward protecting India's genetic resources, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has started DNA fingerprinting the plant varieties in its gene bank. "We are doing this to establish proof of origin of the genetic material, in the event of ownership or patent disputes," says ICAR director general, Rajendra Singh Paroda. For instance, ICAR is currently mapping the molecular fingerprints of India's basmati rice, which it claims is unique, in order to challenge the US patent given to RiceTech (Austin, TX) for its aromatic rice variety that is marketed as basmati. And Paroda says India has many unique genes in its gene bank. "Oriza nivara," for instance, is the only germplasm in the world that contains the gene to resist attack by grass stunt virus.

"We have so far profiled some 2,000 out of the 6,000-odd released crop varieties and a few medicinal plants, but we have a tremendous backlog," says KV Bhat, a scientist at National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR; New Delhi), which operates the gene bank and fingerprinting labs. In addition, DNA probes from many crop species are still under development in his lab, and fingerprinting can cost $125 for each sample.

"It is not possible to fingerprint every plant species or all the 100,000 seed types in our gene bank," says PL Gautam, NBPGR director. So priority has been given to released varieties and parental lines of hybrids, then medicinal plants of great commercial value or on the brink of extinction, and finally seeds that contain genes for such desirable traits as salt or drought tolerance, high yield, or resistance to insects.