The Paper's reporter Jiang Ziwen
At the end of 2014, the whole genome sequencing project of sheep grass led by the Grassland Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the "Grassland Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences") was launched. Seven years later, the official media of Inner Mongolia revealed that the world's first whole genome map of sheep grass has been constructed.
According to the WeChat public account "Inner Mongolia Daily", on the morning of June 30, Bu Xiaolin, deputy secretary of the party committee of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and chairman of the inner mongolia autonomous region, came to the experimental demonstration base of the Shaerqin Agricultural and Pastoral Staggered Area of the Grassland Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to investigate the scientific and technological innovation of grassland grassland industry.
On the morning of June 30, Bu Xiaolin, deputy secretary of the regional party committee and chairman of the autonomous region, learned more about the monitoring technology of grassland and livestock balance and the research of grassland insect pests at the experimental demonstration base of the Shaerqin Agricultural and Pastoral Staggered Area of the Grassland Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Inner Mongolia Daily WeChat public number picture
According to the news, in the screening area of new varieties of sheep grass, Bu Xiaolin carefully inquired about the preservation and improvement of pasture germplasm resources, gained an in-depth understanding of the breeding of new varieties of sheep grass, and talked cordially with scientific researchers. The Grassland Research Institute has built the gene bank with the largest amount of genetic diversity information coverage and the richest germplasm resources in the world, and constructed the world's first whole genome map of sheep grass.
Bu Xiaolin affirmed this achievement of the Institute, and encouraged everyone to further do a good job in the protection and innovative utilization of grass germplasm resources, make the national forage germplasm resource bank bigger and stronger, effectively improve breeding innovation and breeding capabilities, and promote the realization of independent control of important pasture seed sources.
Sheep grass is a perennial rhizome-type herb of the grass family Laicao genus, and is an important excellent pasture grass. The whole genome sequencing project of sheep grass was launched 7 years ago, led by the Grassland Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and cooperated with the Shenzhen Agricultural Genome Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and other units.
According to Xinhua News Agency reported on November 18, 2014, recently, the whole genome sequencing program of sheep grass was fully launched. The plan will fill the gap in the research of grassland plant genomes and effectively promote the healthy development of grassland ecosystems, biodiversity, grassland improvement, and grassland animal husbandry.
The report pointed out that sheep grass is mainly distributed in the temperate grassland area of Eurasia, and its distribution in China accounts for about 50% of the total distribution area, which plays an important role in maintaining the stability of the grassland ecosystem, biodiversity and grassland productivity in northern China.
According to Hou Xiangyang, one of the main promoters of this sequencing plan and then director of the Grassland Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, there is a lack of strong evidence on the genomic origin, phylogenetic relationship and status of sheep grass, and the origin of species; the "three lows" problems, ecological plasticity, grazing degradation and other problems related to grassland degradation have long plagued its rational development and utilization, and the biological information extracted from the whole genome sequence can provide strong evidence for solving many of the above problems. At the same time, after sequencing the whole genome of sheep grass, the massive ecological function information contained in it will greatly promote the development of pasture genome and grassland ecological genomics.
It is worth mentioning that Hou Xiangyang, who was born in October 1963, stepped down as the director of the Grassland Institute of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences in September 2018, and the current director of the institute is Jin Ke, who was born in December 1971 and holds a doctorate in applied biology from the University of Ghent in Belgium.
According to the official website of the Grassland Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the institute was established in 1963, located in No. 120, Wulanchabu East Street, Saihan District, Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and is a state-level research institute specializing in grassland research, and is also the only central scientific research institution in the autonomous region (public welfare category II). Over the years, the Institute has won 4 national awards in the pilot experimental research of the dynamic monitoring system of grassland and livestock balance in northern China, the research and formulation of the quality grading standards for the main cultivated pasture seeds in China, and the grassland machinery and equipment, accounting for 4/9 of the awards in the field of grassland industry in China.
Editor-in-Charge: Yuhao Zhong