China People's Social Media reporter Yi Qiaojun Intern reporter Yang Cui
In today's challenging and opportunistic field of science, there are many admirable female characters who exude great power. Gong Wenfang, a young talent from Huxiang, a professor at the College of Forestry of Central South University of Forestry and Technology, and a master's tutor, has long been engaged in basic research in the genomics of economic plants such as Camellia oleifera. With her unique research perspective and tenacity and optimism, she demonstrates the responsibility and responsibility of a female researcher. She is a "woman" who gives life to plants, and at the same time, she also draws full vitality from the plants she researches.
Sowing the seeds of love A small body contains a lot of energy
"Everyone calls me a 'woman', and I agree. Basic research serves applied research, and as a basic research worker, we must do a good job in every experiment. Gong Wenfang said.
The exploration of scientific research begins with a love of plants. Gong Wenfang was born in Jingzhou, Hubei Province in August 1984, and she was full of curiosity about the growth and change of plants as a child. The love has continued, when filling in the college entrance examination, Gong Wenfang chose all biology-related majors, and she hopes to understand the mystery of life more deeply through systematic study and practice.
After graduating from her bachelor's degree, Gong Wenfang continued to study for a master's degree and a doctorate. During her Ph.D., she devoted herself to research and experiments, and was the last one to leave the lab almost every day.
Late at night, the lights on campus faded and she was the only one left in the lab. Perhaps because of her focus on experiments, she never felt intimidated by such an environment, but felt that it was a peace of mind to conduct her own research without distractions in the quiet campus at the moment. The rumored "bad-tempered" building manager, every time he met her, he would always greet her kindly, ask her about the progress of her experiments, and always say, "You little girl, you have a lot of courage and energy."
After graduating with a Ph.D., Gong Wenfang has been engaged in basic research on the genomics, formation mechanism and regulation of important traits in economic plants such as Camellia oleifera for a long time.
In 2018, Gong Wenfang entered the College of Forestry of Central South University of Forestry and Technology to work, and in his new position, on the one hand, he was teaching tasks, and on the other hand, he started Camellia oleifera related research. Living alone with her children and parents, she is separated from her husband, and she bursts out with the power of a "female man" and takes on the double burden of work and life.
Solve the puzzle of Camellia oleifera and lead the team to harvest big fruits
is not only the tenacity of a "female man", but also Gong Wenfang also shows the patience and caution unique to women.
In 2022, Gong Wenfang will go to Liuyang to serve as a science and technology correspondent. During this time, she and her team taught farmers the techniques and knowledge of Camellia oleifera cultivation. She recalled the first time she went to the Camellia oleifera base to investigate, and she saw that a large number of Camellia oleifera trees did not bear fruit, and she felt very uncomfortable: the farmers worked hard to plant, fertilize and take care of it on time, but such a large Camellia oleifera base turned out to be unexpectedly unharvested.
After careful inquiry and repeated surveys, it was found that the base was not equipped with pollination trees, resulting in the inability of Camellia oleifera trees to bear fruit. Gong Wenfang explained that due to the self-incompatible nature of Camellia oleifera, its own pollination cannot bear fruit, and special pollination trees must be planted. In fact, Camellia oleifera has a thousand flowers and one fruit, and its pollen falls on the flower column and cannot continue to be transmitted. At the same time, Camellia oleifera generally blooms in autumn and winter, because the cold weather will cause the bees in the Camellia oleifera forest to come out not much, Camellia oleifera lacks pollinators, and the phenomenon of Camellia oleifera not bearing fruit is more common. After returning from the base, Gong Wenfang led the team to think deeply about the question of "why Camellia oleifera is self-incommunicating".
Practice makes sense. After repeated comparative experiments, Gong Wenfang and his team created a semi-internal growth test system for Camellia oleifera pollen tubes. Using this system, they found that ester catechins were the key substances affecting the self-incompatibility of Camellia oleifera. At present, the research on ester catechins is mainly about their influence on the flavor of tea and beverages. For example, people often use the tannic enzyme of hydrolyzed ester catechins to reduce the bitter and astringent taste caused by ester catechins, so as to achieve the purpose of improving the flavor quality of tea and beverages.
Subsequently, the team sprayed Camellia oleifera with different concentrations of tanninase and found that tannins could not only significantly improve the self-incompatibility of Camellia oleifera, but also promote fruit growth. After spraying tannins on Camellia oleifera trees, the fruits grew larger and more abundant, and the yield increased by 30%~40% compared with the original.
The sense of achievement and gain that scientific research has brought to Gong Wenfang is immeasurable. "The research on spraying tannins to preserve flowers and fruits is still continuing, and the basic conclusions on when and how to spray have been made, but the differences in regions and climates still need to be studied. I hope that by increasing the production of camellia oil, more people can afford to eat camellia oil and enjoy the deliciousness and health brought by camellia oil. Gong Wenfang said.
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