The research for biotechnology in Bangladesh started in the late 1970s. The root cause behind the initiation was the significance of agricultural sector, which had been the backbone of the national economy since the ancient times. Discover in Biotechnology: 1. Jute genome 2. Fungus genome 3. Rice research

2. Biotechnology and genetic
engineering in Bangladesh
The research for biotechnology in
Bangladesh started in the late 1970s. The
root cause behind the initiation was the
significance of agricultural sector, which
had been the backbone of the national
economy since the ancient times.
Discover in Biotechnology:
1. Jute genome
2. Fungus genome
3. Rice research

3. Jute genome
 In 2008, with the funding of the
government, the University of Dhaka,
DataSoft IT firm and Bangladesh Jute
Research Institute initiated a
collaborative genome research program
on jute under the leadership of Dr.
Maqsudul Alam who had previously
sequenced the genomes of papaya and
rubber. Subsequently in 2010, the group
of scientists successfully sequenced the
genome of jute, through which,
Bangladesh became only the second
country after Malaysia, among
the developing nations, to have
successfully sequenced a plant genome.

4. Report on jute genome

5. Fungus genome-
In 2012, the same group of scientists
decoded the genome of Macrophomina
phaseolina, a Botryosphaeriaceae fungus,
which is responsible for causing seedling
blight, root rot, and charcoal rot of more
than 500 crop and non-crop species
throughout the world. The sequencing took
place at the laboratory of Bangladesh Jute
Research Institute and was done as part of
the The Basic and applied Research on
Jute (BARJ) project.

6. Rice research
Genomes of 186 Bangladeshi rice varieties have
been sequenced in Beijing Genomics Institute, China
as part of a global collaborative project, opening up
new opportunities for varietal developments. These
include rice germplasms, high yielding varieties
(HYV) and advanced lines. Germplasm is the living
genetic resources such as seeds or tissue that is
maintained for the purpose of animal and plant
breeding, preservation and other research
uses. Rice breeders and scientists are elated at the
latest development of rice genomics. They believe
this new understanding of rice gene pool would help
them breed new generation rice varieties that are
more productive, stress tolerant, less
environmentally damaging and more climate-smart.

7. Sample seeds from among the 127,000 rice accessions stored in
the International Rice Genebank at the International Rice
Research Institute. Photo: Courtesy of IRRI

8. Oil in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has struck its first oil, in two gas fields in
the northeastern Sylhet region. This is first time that we
have found economically viable oil resources,
estimated at about 153 million barrels, in the two gas
fields, 280km from the capital . This latest discovery
has brought new hopes for Bangladesh's energy-
starved economy. According to Petrobangla officials,
the reserve is enough to meet the country's oil demand
for two years. Annual oil demand is currently around 25
million barrels. Bangladesh imports around seven
million tons of oil at a rate worth several billion dollars,
putting heavy inflationary pressure on the economy.

10. Wari-Bateshwar
Wari and Bateshwar are two adjacent villages in Amlabo Union
under Belabo police station in Narsingdi district, Bangladesh. It
is situated on an isolated bit of the Pleistocene terrace at
Manohardi-Sibpur, which is detached from the Madhupur tract
by the Old Brahmaputra and the Laksya rivers. Since the 40s of
the last century, a large number of cultural materials of Wari-
Bateshwar have been reported from surface collections and
chance excavations. Systematic archaeological exploration at
the site was carried out in 1998-99 season by the author and
subsequently a number of excavations conducted at the site
since 2000. Archaeological investigations at Wari-Bateshwar
revealed that the site had been occupied from the 4th century
BC onwards with occasional breaks. The present paper is the
detail report of all the evidences from the archaeological record
in the form of physical remains unearthed from explorations and
excavations till date and analyzes them to understand the
nature and behaviors of the people who produced them. This
also places Wari-Bateswar in the macro-level of Indian Ocean
maritime trade network during the early historic period.

12. Thank you