Preface Biotechnology is a key technology for the new millennium. It has wide range of applications in plant science, agriculture, medicine and medical science, food processing, environmental sciences, mining, nanotechnology and nanoelectronics etc. The potential for altering the genetic structure and characteristics of living organisms, including humans, plants and animals, has opened a huge opportunity for development and also raised several concerns about safety and ethical implications of the new technologies. Industrial biotechnology involves the use of enzymes and microorganisms to produce value-added chemicals from renewable sources and it is being used in big ways by chemical, pharmaceutical, food, and agricultural industries. The areas which may be greatly impacted by such applications/ innovations and research on biotechnology are very wide ranging and may include diverse fields such as agriculture, floriculture and horticulture, medicinal & aromatic plants and forestry sector, soil fertility management, microbial products, traditional fermented foods and beverages, vaccine production, animal health including reproduction & nutrition, aquaculture, human health and as well as gene pool conservation and utilization, etc.

Abstract Dietary phytochemicals and herbal medicines are under intensive investigation for their potential as chemopreventive agents against various diseases due to the wide variety of microbial and plant functionally relevant secondary metabolites. The chemical diversity of phytochemicals, as well as phytochemicals and complex metabolic interactions between the biological systems may exceed the capacity of the platforms of traditional analysis, and therefore pose major challenges in the study of chemopreventive phytochemical compounds.

Abstract Biotechnology offers an opportunity to exploit the cell, tissue, organ or entire organism by growing them in vitro and to genetically manipulate them to obtain desired compounds. It plays a pivotal role in search for alternatives to production of desirable biomedical compounds. There are several approaches have been used to increase the yield of metabolites from cell cultures such as manipulation of nutrient medium, application of exogenous growth stimulators, chemical treatment, precursor feeding, elicitation, transformed cultures, metabolic engineering, micropropagation, bioreactor cultures and etc.

Abstract Quercus species of family Fagaceae are very important from both economic and ecological perspectives. These exhibit irregular fruiting, and produce seeds recalcitrant to storage, thereby difficult to propagate through conventional procedures. Again because of their very difficult to root nature, extremely limited success has been observed in vegetative propagation. Application of new technological approaches like in vitro propagation may be of interest for accelerating tree improvement programs to these hardwood species. This review provides a summary of the advancement in the application of in vitro propagation to oak species of Kumaun West Himalaya India.

Abstract Bamboo is nature’s unique gift to mankind. It has tremendous scope for use in eco-friendly agro-forestry programmes, to bring marginal lands into use. The requirement for bamboo is increasing for various traditional and industrial requirements. In India almost 99% of annual bamboo production comes from the natural forests and only about 1% is derived from plantations.

Abstract Bacilli, a group of endospore forming bacteria present in soil, contribute directly or indirectly to crop productivity. Bacilli have many physiological unique traits like multilayered cell wall, stress resistant endospore formation, secretion of peptide antibiotics, peptide signal molecules, extracellular enzymes, which make them ubiquitous and assist to their survival under adverse environmental conditions for long time.

Abstract Biosurfactants (BS) are amphiphilic compounds produced by microorganisms mainly bacteria and are known to contain hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties that play a major role in reducing surface tension (ST) and interfacial tensions between individual molecules. Chemically, BS is a complex molecules consisting of lipopeptides, glycolipids, polysaccharide protein complex, fatty acids and phospholipids. They are known for their biodegradability, low toxicity, and renewable nature.

Abstract Thermophiles mainly harbor in highly temperate environments such as hydrothermal vents, hot springs, fumaroles etc. The main importance of thermophiles is due to their thermostable proteins, enzymes and their adaptive mechanisms at higher temperature which are very useful for industrial applications. The main rationale behind this research was to isolate industrially important thermophilic bacteria from the Hot Springs of Sikkim which can be used as tools for genetic engineering and vector based research activities.

Abstract Since the beginning of the civilization, medicinal plants have been used to prevent and treat various ailments. At present, most of the pharmaceutical/ nutraceutical industries highly depend on wild medicinal plants for the supply of raw materials for extraction of bioactive compounds. As medicinal plants receive increased scientific and commercial attention, there is increasing pressure on the wild medicinal plant populations.

Abstract Modern world is experiencing energy insecurity because of extreme population pressure and depleting energy resources. Fossil fuels though have highly applauded for contributing to today’s development, are non renewable energy and debated for not sustainable. This has posed serious challenges to the scientific fraternity for finding the suitable alternatives. A cheap, eco-friendly, sustainable or renewable type of energy is visualized for development with added advantage of mitigating green house gases.

Abstract Nanotechnology is an emerging field that offers various potential applications in the areas of agriculture, health and medicine. Recent advances in the design and synthesis of nano-materials aids for developing sophisticated nano-devices for clinical research and practice. Applications of nano materials in medicine includes disease diagnosis, early prognosis, detection of pathogens, tumor detection, tissue engineering, target  specific drug delivery,  development of  biomaterials  for oral health  and understanding of cellular mechanisms in live cells using molecular imaging.

Abstract Cancer is a potent disease causing nearly 6 million deaths per year worldwide. There are a number of cancers such as skin, brain, lung, breast, stomach, colon and blood cancer caused due to number of factors like unbalancing of hormones, smoking etc. Cancer could be treated by chemotherapies or through irradiation therapies.

Abstract As we have entered in the post genomic era where we have successfully completed the full genome sequencing of many important crop species and now the future challenge is to ascertain the functions of all genes present in plant genome.

Abstract Meta analysis quantitatively summarizes the findings of a large collection of individual experiments. It is a powerful statistical tool since it integrates a vast literature and thus includes large sample size. It leads to a stronger conclusion than traditional literary review as studies are analyzed applying statistical methods. Meta- analysis is increasingly being applied in different fields of biological sciences. It has been emerged as an independent subfield of modern health science researches as in this field very few studies achieve statistical power in isolation. Meta- analysis has also become an integral part of plant science research, e.g., agricultural research, ethnobotanical research, tea and health science research etc. Meta-analysis has few limitations although rigorously conducted meta- analyses are considered more valuable than any single study contributing to the analysis.

Index Symbols (R)-3-((R)-3-hydroxyalkanoyloxy) alkanoic acids (H  126 (R)-3-hydroxyoctanoate-1-¹³C  126, 255, 41, 85, 140 2-keto-3-deoxy-6-phosphogluconate  300, 131 A ACC deaminase  91 Acclimatization  53, 56, 57, 79, 80, 86, 88, 188 Acetyltransferase  125 Acinetobacter radioresistens  114, 122 Acinetobacter sp.  120, 122, 135, 144 ACP-ligases  131 Acyl carrier protein  148 Acyl moiety  124 Age memory  64 Agriculture 24, 38, 86, 89, 90, 92, 93,  96, 97, 98, 100, 106, 112, 111, 112, 137, 146, 198, 199, 201, 204, 223, 265, 276,  297, Agro industry wastes  141 Agrobacterium rhizogenes  258, 263, 28, 40 Agrobacterium tumefaciens  258, 276 agrochemicals  95, 97 Alanine-Valine  120 Alkanoate  124 Altergenicity  106