I know the content will be quite boring to some but, I found it really interesting. Think how amazing it would if they could be able to develop sanjivini booti again.
'Sanjivani Booti', which according to ancient Hindu text 'Ramayan' resurrected the life of Lord Ram's brother Lakshman, is under the scanner of plant scientists here for its ''survival instinct''.
Scientists at the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) are trying to identify the gene responsible for the drought tolerance in the plant, that has enabled it to survive millions of years.
'Sanjivani Booti' (biological nomenclature Selaginella Bryopteris) belongs to Carboniferous period, which existed about 300 million years ago.
''Selaginella Bryopteris (Sanjivani) comes under Pteridophyta group of ferns, which were the first vascular plants on earth,'' senior NBRI scientist Dr P N Khare -- one of the five botanists working on its gene identification -- told UNI here today.
''In the absence of moisture, 'Sanjivani' curls up and assumes the form of brown crust. It can even grow on rocks and arid land,'' Dr Khare noted adding, other plants in such atmosphere would wilt and perish in no time.
Interestingly, the 'resilient' plant regains original shape and blooms within hours of coming in contact with moisture or water.
This fern grows to a length of three to four inches and exhibits prostrate proliferation (creeps). 'Sanjivani' is found all over India, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Orrisa, Dr Khare informed.
'Sanjivani' finds mention in other ancient texts too, including Ayurveda, for its several medicinal benefits, including stomach disorders. It is also used as tonic to augment human growth.'' Its benefits are widely utilised by the tribal community even in present times due to their traditional knowledge base and wisdom, he said. ''Once we identify its gene, we can inject the same in other plants to develop similar properties in them,'' he added.
Elaborating further, Dr Khare said with scarcity of water hitting the country hard in several regions and lack of proper irrigational facilities, the gene identification would provide panacea for several ills in this regard.
''For example, rice needs large quantity of water. Therefore, genetically engineered variety of rice with Sanjivani's gene would require limited water to grow,'' he added.
NBRI has kept 60 species of ferns at its Fern House, which is equipped with mist irrigation and dish irrigation to conduct several other such studies on this specie of plants.
''The Sanjivani specimen was brought at our Fern House about six months back in July 2006,'' Dr Khare said.
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