Biotechnology Programme at the MSSRF takes the advantages of advances in Biotechnology and Molecular Genetics that have opened up new avenues of research and has enormous promises and implications for improving agricultural productivity, ensuring food security and human nutrition. The major activities of the Biotechnology programme at MSSRF focus on basic research, application of biotechnology at grassroots level and dissemination of biotechnology information.

The work carried out at MSSRF during the last few years has contributed immensely in developing reproducible in vitro protocols for rare and endangered plant species in the Western Ghats as well as mangroves; documenting diversity among the mangrove species using molecular marker systems; assessing ecosystem health using microbes and lichen species; Bioprospecting fro novel compounds of medicinal and therapeutic value; identifying and characterizing novel genetic combinations from mangrove species and developing transformation systems for select crop species for generation of location specific crop varieties offering tolerance/ resistance to abiotic stresses and addressing micronutrient deficiency.