China Net Yantai, October 28 (Reporter Wang Ruifang, Liu Zhenke) We often see yellow goldfish and red goldfish, but we must rarely see real golden goldfish. The team of academician Gui Jianfang of the Institute of Aquatic Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences established a precision molecular design breeding technology for goldfish, and cultivated a new goldfish variety that exudes a 24k golden luster - "Golden Rabbit", which justifies the name of China's "golden" fish culture.
Goldfish pleated lion (cinnabar eye) Photo by Yu Peng
This pleated skirt lion's head goldfish is golden all over, without excess variegation, and the shadow flows when swimming, shimmering with a faint metallic luster. Not only did she couple gold into the popular pleated skirt lion-head goldfish for the first time, but more peculiarly, her eyes were as vermilion as rabbit eyes, which is why she was named the "Golden Rabbit Pleated Lion".
On the 26th, at the finals of the 2nd National Postdoctoral Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, the reporter met Yu Peng, the postdoctoral fellow in charge of the ornamental fish innovation project.
At the site of the 2nd National Postdoctoral Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, Yu Peng was interviewed by China.com. Photo by China Network reporter Liu Zhenke
According to Yu Peng, the goldfish is the world's first well-known ornamental fish domesticated and bred by the mainland, which evolved from the red-yellow crucian carp, and was called "golden carp" in the Song Dynasty about a thousand years ago. Since the domestication of the golden carp, more than 300 species of goldfish have been artificially domesticated and bred on the mainland. Academician Chen Zhen, who was the first to study goldfish genetics in the mainland, once counted that the body color of the existing goldfish varieties is mainly gray, red, yellow, black, white, blue, purple, spotted and other colors, but the lack of gold. "Golden" fish is not gold, which has always been a regret in the history of goldfish evolution.
The creation of this variety uses the world's first goldfish precision molecular breeding technology system, which first identifies and verifies the key genes that control the production and maintenance of melanin in goldfish, and optimizes the gene editing technology, resulting in the loss of melanin in the eyes and body of goldfish, and the red eye on the eyes; On the body surface, goldfish with normal scales show a yellowing golden color, which is spectrally golden-like (the body surface of goldfish with transparent scales shows a pure white color similar to albino, and it is also a new species, named "Jade Rabbit"). Subsequently, by combining efficient breeding, gynogenetic reproduction and sex-controlled breeding technology, new strains of homozygous golden rabbit and jade rabbit goldfish can be created.
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Not only that, Dr. Yu Peng also identified the causal genes of the longan trait, and successfully coupled the longan trait into the pleated skirt lion's head goldfish, and created more than ten new goldfish strains with high ornamental value and stable inheritance in just 8 months.
(A new goldfish strain based on precision molecular design breeding technology)
Traditional cross-breeding of goldfish (A) and newly established precision molecular breeding technology (B)
According to statistics, the annual output value of the ornamental fish industry in mainland China has exceeded 10 billion, of which goldfish account for 1/3. Yu Peng said that at present, the cultivation of new goldfish varieties in China is mainly through cross-breeding, which not only takes a long time, but also has serious differentiation of offspring, resulting in a low rate of authenticity. Through precise molecular breeding, the precise coupling of beautiful traits can be realized, and more beautiful new goldfish varieties can be customized in a shorter time, opening up a new road for the cultivation of precious ornamental fish varieties, polishing the "national quintessence" of science and technology, and helping China gradually develop from a goldfish country to a world goldfish power.
Yu Peng, a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Aquatic Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Photo by China Network reporter Liu Zhenke
Yu Peng told reporters that he has loved fish since he was a child, and when he was a child, he followed his elders to catch fish and shrimp in the fish pond, and that process made him feel very happy, and he also chose to major in aquaculture after going to university. "Now we welcome thousands of lives every day, and watching these little lives grow up and transform into her most beautiful form is a wonderful process. I think we should be full of love for life and keep a heart full of curiosity, even if we go to a new field, we can develop hobbies and passions. "The words full of vigor and confidence, the perfect integration of hobbies and careers, fully demonstrate the demeanor of China's new scientific research force.
Goldfish is the "quintessence" of the mainland, with a history of 1800 years, and goldfish are recorded in ancient books such as "Shu Wei Ji", "Classic of Mountains and Seas" and "Compendium of Materia Medica". In the breeding process, phenotypes such as convex eyes and red eyes are also called "dragon eyes" and "jade rabbits" by the ancients, the dragon is the totem of the Chinese people, named after the dragon, it can be seen that people respect her, and the jade rabbit also represents the mythical story of the mainland Chang'e jade rabbit. Therefore, among the 1,600 species of fish in the mainland, the goldfish is not only a literate fish, but also carries people's yearning and pursuit of a better life. "Our generation shoulders the mission of promoting and inheriting the Chinese goldfish culture, and we should carry forward the Chinese goldfish culture." Yu Peng said.