Gao Li, a researcher at the Institute of Plant Protection of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, is a doctoral supervisor, and has been selected into the National High-level Talents Special Support Program, the Ministry of Science and Technology Innovation Talent Promotion Program - Young and Middle-Aged Scientific and Technological Innovation Leading Talents, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Agricultural Sciences Talents Leading Talents, Beijing Science and Technology Rising Star and other talent projects, won the 13th China Young Women Scientist Award, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences 60th Anniversary Outstanding Contribution Award and other awards.
Not in the laboratory, in the wheat field, or on the way from the laboratory to the wheat field - this is the daily trajectory of Gaoli.
From the breakthrough results in the rapid detection of wheat rust to the international leading systematic research on wheat dwarf smut disease, this female scientist dedicated to wheat disease research has truly "written" her papers on the land of the motherland and "written" in the golden wheat fields.
"What do you do?" - This very common chat topic in social situations often makes scientists fall into contemplation, simple explanations are easy to cause misunderstandings, and detailed explanations are really difficult to explain. Gaoli's main subject of study was wheat, a food crop that everyone was familiar with. Her research direction is the pathogenesis and integrated control of wheat dwarf smut disease, and it is difficult to describe the professionalism of this research and its significance in a few words. Gaoli mainly aims at the internationally important quarantine disease that causes the most harmful and extremely difficult to control among wheat powdery mildews- wheat dwarf smut disease, and carries out research on the pathogenic mechanism, the interaction between pathogenic bacteria and hosts, and the development and utilization of disease-resistant varieties. The results of the study have produced significant economic benefits and important social impacts in ensuring the safe production of wheat in China, promoting the normal trade of wheat at home and abroad, improving China's position in international trade competition, and formulating national phytosanitary standards and trade technical barriers.
Wheat dwarf smut disease is a disease that causes a large-scale serious reduction in wheat production in North America and Europe (more than 80% or even extinction), and is the most harmful and most difficult disease in wheat powdery mildew, so strict prevention of the introduction of wheat dwarf smut disease has become one of the focuses of China's phytosanitary work. "This disease is very special, I describe it as turning the wheat grain into a white-skinned bun, but the bread inside is full of the black winter spore powder of the germ, which is equivalent to the fact that as long as the outer skin of the seed is slightly broken, the spore powder will spill out, it can survive in the soil for ten years or more, and it will germinate when it encounters the right conditions, and then infect the wheat, resulting in the occurrence of the disease." Mixed with this pathogenic bacteria of wheat processed flour, serious will make people and animals nausea, vomiting and other poisoning reactions, the most terrible is "even if made into noodles, biscuits or feed, people or animals eat it and then excrete it, winter spores still have the ability to survive, encounter suitable environmental conditions will endanger wheat, so once the disease appears it is extremely difficult to eradicate." ”
It is the tenacious viability of pathogenic bacteria that makes the phytosanitary department need to wait at all times, China imports a large amount of wheat every year, how to quickly and accurately monitor, how to prevent and control the invasion of germs, and once an accident occurs, what methods we have to effectively prevent and control, which is a major issue related to people's livelihood. It is precisely because of his outstanding contributions in these aspects that in 2017, GaoLi was awarded the 13th "Young Chinese Women Scientist Award". "In 2011, I went to the Department of Biology of Stanford University in the United States as a visiting scholar for 1 and a half years, studying corn powdery mildew, and after returning to China, in response to the severe situation and urgent needs facing our country, I began to systematically conduct research on wheat dwarf smut disease. At present, we are in a leading position in the international testing, infection mechanism and prevention and control measures of this pathogen. ”
From emergency measures to technical reserves, her systematic research achievements are remarkable - in terms of detection methods, a simple and easy detection technology has been developed, and pathogenic bacteria can be quickly detected with kits and test strips; in the infection mechanism, the long-standing traditional view has been broadened, and the abnormal development of wheat anthers and ovary after being infected by pathogens has been clarified; in terms of prevention and control technology, chemical agents, prevention and control methods and strains and prevention and control systems that can be used for biological control have been stored, and high resistance strains have been reserved.
In fact, the most significant is that these studies have built an important technical fortress to ensure China's wheat foreign trade transactions and safe production. "Because we have mastered advanced detection technology, we can detect germs in a timely and effective manner, and a large number of wheat will be stranded in customs every year due to this disease." With the stockpile of effective prevention and control methods, we can be aware that these can rise to the level of national technical barriers in trade negotiations. ”
White Blazer Dress / Edition
Ring-embellished heels / Pedro
At the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, there is a well-known slogan: "Write the paper on the land of the motherland." ”
As was customary, the high profits should be in the wheat fields at this time of year. "Follow the wheat season, at this time, you have to go to the field to make arrangements, monitor the temperature and humidity in the winter, count the number of days in the snow period, and preliminarily judge whether the disease may occur in the next year according to the climatic conditions." In April and May of the following year, the wheat is in the growing stage, she also has to go to the field to sample, detect and monitor whether there is a disease, which is also one of the important tasks of the quarantine department, and she provides various related consulting services such as testing and prevention for the local quarantine department all year round to jointly guard the safe production of wheat.
As a scientist studying the disease, GaoLi has to go to the disease-prone areas at key time nodes every year to conduct disease investigations, and submit an investigation report on the disease to the Ministry of Agriculture to provide advice to the government decision-making department.
"Wheat harvest is in the heat of the summer, this disease is also the easiest to find at this time, so where the wheat harvest I will appear where, often rushing to the wheat fields in different regions, others feel hard, but I am very rewarding, this is the verification of our indoor research results." Communicating with farmers, carefully observing in the field, seeing, gaining, thinking, and returning to the laboratory may become a new topic, which is the best interpretation of "writing papers on the land of the motherland".
In the laboratory, the work is also busy, leading the team to study the infection mechanism and prevention and control system of the disease, so all year round, Gao Li always has no idle time, so that when she asks her what hobbies she has, she answers for a while: "In addition to work, there is really only time to walk the baby." ”
When she was studying for a doctorate at the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Gao Li's projects were mainly related to the biological control of nematodes, and after graduation, she entered the Institute of Plant Protection of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and became a member of the State Key Laboratory of Plant Disease and Pest Biology. "This is the laboratory in January 1992 through the national acceptance and put into formal operation, in view of the major needs of national agricultural production and scientific and technological development, focusing on the basic biology of plant diseases and insect pests, outbreak mechanism and prevention and control of basic issues, to carry out cutting-edge, creative and forward-looking research." It has truly achieved the goal of facing the major needs of the country and facing the main battlefield of agriculture to ensure food security. ”
In 2019, the grassland moth native to the tropical regions of the Americas invaded China, which had previously caused significant losses in many countries. Led by Gao Li's research institute, scientists laid out prevention and control, successfully curbed the pest, and the relevant research results won the "Ten Major Leading Agricultural Technologies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2021". In the era of globalization, the harm and consequences caused by biological invasion are difficult to predict, and agriculture is the first industry to bear the brunt of it, and it is an important force directly related to the people's livelihood and national fortune. "I am also currently involved in the census of invasive alien organisms, how many are there? Which are new intrusions? Can it be preventable and controllable? "Gao Li, who grew up in the countryside, knew from an early age that crops affected by pests and diseases would reduce production, and farmers' incomes would decrease. And now, she's fighting in her own way.
Blue suit dress / Maryling
Germs, pests, invasive organisms... Sounds like a scalp-tingling job? Not at all. Mentioning the appearance of the black powder fungus, Gao Li became very excited: "Like a football, the grid is raised, like a small fortress, very beautiful!" These meshes are professionally called mesh ridges, and through their height and thickness they can distinguish the other two pathogens of powdery mildew that are particularly similar to the wheat dwarf powdery mildew, such a feature is really useful and beautiful in the eyes of researchers! Another scientific research project that won the title of Beijing Science and Technology Rising Star was also vividly described by Gao Li, that is, the study of wheat rust bacteria detection. Rust is also a fungal disease, and once infected, it will lead to a serious reduction in food production, which is very harmful. Wheat rust includes stripe rust, leaf rust and stalk rust, although they are all rust, but the control methods are not the same, once the judgment error will directly affect the control methods and efficiency. "Strip rust is rusty in rows, and stalk rust is a big red spot, which is a folk proverb used to judge different types of rust, but it requires a lot of experience to really judge, and it is not guaranteed to be completely accurate."
Gao Li made an innovative experiment by reading the literature and thinking: "I injected their spores directly into the body of mice, and fortunately, we successfully isolated a specific antibody, which combined with different rust spores to form a different color, and under the microscope, according to the color, you can accurately determine which type of pathogen it is, even inexperienced people can distinguish it at a glance." ”
The use of simple, accurate and easy scientific standards to replace the judgment that requires manual experience is the most vivid example of agricultural science and technology. Although a few years have passed, Gurley still brings up with a childlike joy because "this is one of my earliest projects, and it is also a very practical one." ”
After that, she used this idea to do similar experiments on the study of wheat smut disease, and it was also successful. "For three very similar species of powdery mildews – netty, light and fishy, we also made the kit and approved a technical update to the existing agricultural industry standards."
As the first author and corresponding author, she published nearly 50 SCI papers, the first inventor was authorized to have more than 20 national invention patents, and was selected into the National High-level Talent Special Support Program, the Ministry of Science and Technology Innovation Talent Promotion Program - Young and Middle-aged Scientific and Technological Innovation Leading Talents, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Agricultural Sciences Talents Leading Talents, Beijing Science and Technology Rising Star and other talent projects, won the Chinese Young Female Scientist Award, The Outstanding Contribution Award for the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the First Prize of the Beijing Youth Outstanding Scientific and Technological Paper and many other awards.
And this way she talked about the internal volume of scientific research, very frankly said: "Adjust your mentality, but also adjust your pace." Short flat can produce results quickly, which can alleviate some of the pressure. If you want to achieve great results, you still have to face the forefront of agricultural science and technology in the world, the main battlefield of modern agricultural construction, the major needs of the country, and the life and health of the people. ”
Producer / Sha Xiaoli
Planning and co-ordination / Wen Ji
Styling / Ginger
Makeup / Chen Ling
Photography / Zhang Hongkai
Interview with Author / Kitchen Flower Jun
WeChat Typography / Zhang Yixue