【人民日报】专攻农业痛点，种子“精准设计”

Core Insights - The Chinese Academy of Sciences has released significant research outcomes from the A-class pilot project "Precision Design and Creation of Seeds," achieving systematic breakthroughs across theory, technology, and products over six years [1] - The project has developed 37 leading varieties focused on increasing yield and quality while reducing input and losses, promoting 14.48 million acres of new crop varieties, thus providing technological support for revitalizing the seed industry in China [1] Group 1 - The research team has cloned key genes that allow rice to maintain stable yields while reducing nitrogen fertilizer by 20%-30%, addressing the issue of excessive fertilizer use [2] - The team has identified a broad-spectrum resistance gene, Pm24, from local wheat varieties to combat diseases like powdery mildew and has developed high-yielding wheat varieties such as "Zhongke 166," significantly reducing pesticide usage with nearly 1.5 million acres promoted [2] - The project has successfully created new tetraploid rice materials by overcoming challenges in genetic transformation and genome annotation, opening new pathways for breeding [2] Group 2 - The research team has developed high-yield, high-nutrition soybean varieties, including the "Kedou" and "Dongsheng" series, to address China's high soybean import dependency and low productivity [3] - In aquaculture, the concept of "double triploid" has been introduced, leading to the development of a candidate new strain of silver crucian carp, "Zhongke 6," which shows significant improvements in growth rate, survival rate, and feed efficiency [3] - The "Zhongke Fa" series of rice has become a star variety, with "Zhongke Fa 5" yielding over 20% more than local premium varieties in Northeast rice areas, and "Zhongke Fa Early Jing 1" achieving a breakthrough in early-season japonica rice varieties [3] Group 3 - The traditional breeding cycle has been reduced from 8-10 years to a more predictable, programmable, and customizable process, thanks to the advancements made under the pilot project initiated in November 2019 [4] - The project focuses on major crops like rice and wheat, as well as aquatic animals, aiming for a target of increasing yield by 10%-20%, reducing input by 15%-20%, and minimizing losses by 15%-20% through the creation of precision-designed varieties [4]