India’s first genetic bank for wildlife conservation inaugurated in Hyderabad

In Hyderabad, India’s first genetic bank for wildlife conservation has been inaugurated by Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan at the Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) in CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) to protect India’s biodiversity and environment. It is dubbed as National Wildlife Genetic Resource Bank (NWGRB), which can store 17,000 vials worth of samples. Currently genetic material, including DNA, cells and tissues besides semen and eggs of 23 wildlife species are stored. This facility would also facilitate exchange of genetic material between Indian zoos for maintaining genetic diversity and conservation management made accessible to scientists and wildlife managers for implementing conservation programmes. The Genetic Resource Bank (GRB) is the systematic collection and preservation of tissues, sperm, eggs and embryos, genetic material (DNA/RNA).