Development of value added and genetically pure micropropagated plantlets in sugarcane

Nitrogen fixing bacteria have played a major role in sugarcane production. Some of the sugarcane varieties have shown to obtain more than 60% of their nitrogen from biological nitrogen fixation. Among them Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus, an endophytic associate of sugarcane normally present in high numbers (up to 10 6 counts g -1 tissue) in all parts of cane and substantially contributes towards nitrogen nutrition of sugarcane by fixing nitrogen and in general improved plant health by producing plant growth hormones. But it gets eliminated during micropropagation, which is one of the best technologies for fast multiplication of cane seed in sugarcane. In the present paper a protocol has been developed to produce value added and genetically pure micropropagated plantlets after incorporation of G. diazotrophicus in plant system and testing its fidelity using SSR markers.