Your favourite jowar ki roti may soon carry genes from bacteria that live in the digestive tract. City scientists have successfully developed jowar (sorghum) varieties that are tolerant to drought and salinity. The sorghum varieties get these special properties thanks to a gene called mtlD, derived from Escherichia coli. The mtlD gene from E coli is put into the ordinary sorghum plants to make them tolerant to water and salt stress. Though farmers may get higher yields with less use of water, it’s not clear how the presence of E coli gene in food products will affect the human health. The city-based Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture is now conducting field trials of a transgenic variety of sorghum it has developed to fight drought conditions and give higher yields. Last month, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee gave its nod for field trials at Crida’s centre in Santhoshnagar here. This is the first transgenic variety of a major food crop now under field trials by a government research institute. Once the trials are successful and the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee gives its nod for public release, this Bt jowar will be released for commercial cultivation and human use. CRIDA scientists picked the bacterial gene and inserted it into sorghum to give the food crop the strength to fight drought and salinity.