ABSTRACT
Genetic Engineering of plants is a recent development in the field ofbiotechnology. Ever since the origin of this technology in the1970s, molecular biologists have found microbes very useful for producing new microbial strains, novel pharmaceuticals, etc., via manipulation. Bacteria have always provided a convenient reservoir for storing, multiplying and recombining genes necessary for the recombinant DNA technology. These microorganisms have provided all the tools of the trade of modern biotechnology, from cutting and splicing DNA pieces, to the vectors for ferrying these genetic material to different hosts, to the tiny factories for making proteins from the genetic information, to enabling amplification of DNA, to the production of biodiesel, and even to cleaning up an environment contaminated by humans. Microbes are continually providing the means by which agriculturists, medical and forensic scientists, environmentalists and even industrialists are improving their skills. So vast is the scope of microbes in the field of genetic engineering, that the process is considered to be only the tip of the microbial iceberg.
