Jawaharlal Nehru Awards - 2007

Dr. Resmi Paul has been selected for the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award, 2007 instituted by Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, for outstanding doctoral research in Horticulture. She was selected for the award for inducing genetic variation in ginger and developing superior types using biotechnological tools. She has conducted her research works under the guidance of Dr. M. R. Shylaja, Dept of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Horticulture, Kerala Agricultural University.

Dr. R. Richard Churchill, Assistant Professor, AICRP on Poultry, Mannuthy, Kerala Agricultural University has been awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for the best thesis for the year 2007. The thesis “Development of Transgenic Spermatozoa in Chicken” was done at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, UP under the supervision of Dr. Deepak Sharma M.V.Sc., Ph.D., Principal Scientist, Central Avian Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly

Highlights of the work:

In this experiment, production of transgenic spermatozoa, the most vital and critical component of transgenic chicken production was successfully attempted using Sperm Medicated Gene Transfer (SMGT). The present study optimized for the first time the sperm cell processing and transfection conditions for chicken spermatozoa, sperm DNA isolation and identified best suitable semen extender for transfection experiment. A complete protocol of Sperm Medicated Gene Transfer was standardized for LacZ and GFP genes in chicken spermatozoa. Successful internalization of foreign gene in to the chicken spermatozoa was confirmed by PCR and dot hybridization techniques. This study also demonstrated that the lipofection and Restriction Enzyme Medicated Introgression (REMI) methods of gene transfer are effective than simple transfection improving the efficiency of exogenous DNA uptake and internalization.