Sarasan, Viswambharan
Job TitleHead of Conservation Biotechnology Unit
DepartmentJodrell
SectionConservation Biotechnology
Science Teams:
Joined Kew: 1999
Foreign Language(s): Malayalam, Hindi (basic)
Qualifications & Appointments
BSc, Univ. Kerala, India
MSc, Univ. Kerala, India
PhD, Univ. Kerala, India
Member: International Society for Horticultural Science
Role
Conservation and income generation- applications of in vitro methods; research into plant recalcitrance and cryopreservation; capacity building and training
Protocol development for the in vitro propagation of rare and threatened taxa with particular reference to global biodiversity hotspot and island countries. Rescue and recovery of plants on the brink and providing propagules for restoration projects; ‘In Vitro Collecting’ as a tool for collecting plant material in the wild with particular reference to Madagascan orchids. Capacity building and training for conservation and income generation projects. Cryopreservation of recalcitrant taxa with particular reference to genetic diversity conservation of threatened ferns.
Projects
- African Dryland Alliance for Pesticidal-Plant Technologies (ADAPPT)
- Photoautotrophic Micropropagation Systems (PMS)
- County Durham Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary project
- Cryo-conservation Centres of Excellence
- Ex-situ conservation of Madagascar's endangered orchids
- Guinea (Conakry): Developing botanical capacity, a National Herbarium and Red Data book
- In Vitro Propagation of Café Marron (Ramosmania rodriguesii, Rubiaceae)
- In Vitro Conservation of Bottle Palm (Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (L. Bailey) H.E. Moore)
- Madagascar Orchid Conservation Project
- In Vitro Methods for the Conservation of Endemic Species
- Caesalpinioid woodlands of southern Africa: optimising the indigenous use of pesticidal plants (Southern African Pesticidal Plants project – SAPP)
(project completed 2009)
Selected Recent Publications
Sarasan V, Kite GC, Sileshi GW, Stevenson PC (2011). Applications of phytochemical and in vitro techniques for reducing over-harvesting of medicinal and pesticidal plants and generating income for the rural poor. Plant Cell Rep 30:1163–1172
Reed BM, Sarasan V, Kane M, Bunn E, Pence VC., (2011). Biodiversity conservation and conservation biotechnology tools In Vitro Cell Dev Biol-Plant 47: 1-4
Barnicoat H, Cripps R, Kendon J, Sarasan V. (2011). Conservation in vitro of rare and threatened ferns - case studies of biodiversity hotspot and island species In Vitro Cell Dev Biol-Plant 47: 37-45
Sarasan V. (2010) Importance of in vitro technology to future conservation programmes worldwide. Kew Bulletin 65: 549–554
Marriott P. and Sarasan V. (2010). Novel micropropagation and weaning methods for the integrated conservation of a critically endangered tree species, Medusagyne oppositifolia. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol-Plant 46:516-523
Nandha, B. & Sarasan, V. (2007). Micropropogation of Aloe calcairophila and Aloe polyphylla: the effect of different carbon sources on shoot multiplication and rooting. Bradleya 25: 33-36.
Selected Earlier Publications
Lim, K.Y., Souckova-Skalicka, K., Sarasan, V., Clarkson, J.J., Chase, M.W., Kovarik, A. & Leitch, A.R. (2006). A genetic appraisal of a new synthetic Nicotiana tabacum (Solanaceae) and the Kostoff synthetic tobacco. American Journal of Botany 93 (6): 875-883.
Sarasan, V., Cripps, R., Ramsay, M.M., Atherton, C., McMichen, M., Prendergast, G. & Rowntree, J.K. (2006). Conservation in vitro of threatened plants - progress in the past decade. In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant 42 (3): 206-214.
Kerermani, M.J., Sarasan, V., Roberts, A.V., Yokoya, K., Wentworth, J. & Sieber, V.K. (2003). Oryzalin-induced chromosome doubling in Rosa and its effect on morphology and pollen viability. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 107:1195-1200.
Sarasan, V., Ramsay, M.M. & Roberts, A.V. (2002). In vitro germination and induction of direct somatic embryogenesis in 'Bottle Palm' [Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (L. Bailey) H.E. Moore], a critically endangered Mauritian palm. Plant Cell Reports 20: 1107-1111.
Sarasan, V., Roberts, A.V. & Rout, G.R. (2001). Methyl laurate and 6-benzyladenine promote germination of somatic embryos of a hybrid rose. Plant Cell Reports 20: 183-186.
