Long Ping team members respond to GM rice research: currently at academic level

Recently, some media reported that Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice, said in an interview that he was transferring the four carbon genes of maize to rice to increase photosynthetic efficiency and increase yields; he also believed that genetic modification is the future direction of development. All in one. This news caught the attention of the community.

On the 3rd, the reporter of Xinhua News Agency interviewed Mr. Yuan Longping’s disciple and Deng Qiyun, chief scientist of the State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice. Deng Qiyun said that due to the difficulty and other reasons, the related research on transferring the carbon four genes of maize to rice is currently at the level of technical discussion and there is still a long way from practical application.

Deng Qiyun told reporters that, first of all, rice, wheat, soybeans and other crops belong to the three carbon plants, and corn, sugar cane and other carbon four plants. In general, as the carbon 4 plants have higher photosynthetic efficiency than carbon 3 plants, their production is also higher. If the four carbon genes can be successfully transferred to crops such as rice, the yield can be increased by more than 30%.

It is understood that the relevant research is currently at the level of academic discussion and has not been used in practice. There is no intersection and correlation with the current super rice breeding project plan.

Deng Qiyun believes that it is very difficult to fully realize and master such technology and it is a "century project" that is difficult to fully realize in a short time. Academician Yuan Longping sent Deng Qiyun to the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2002 to cooperate with related experts. However, as one of the earliest experts in the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center who came into contact with this scientific research project, Deng Qiyun bluntly stated that "it may be difficult to achieve results in one's life."

According to reports, Yuan Longping said in an interview with the media that genetic modification is the future direction of development and cannot be generalized. Deng Qiyun told reporters that several generations of scientists are exploring ways to increase the production of carbon-3 plants. As early as in the 1950s and 1960s, many scientists had used the "combination of compartmental effects screening" and other methods to find the "cape" of carbon-3 plants. Today, GM technology has guided scientists to a possible direction. It's not a bad idea to explore.

Deng Qiyun introduced that there is still much room for improvement in conventional technology in terms of increasing production. "I think that conventional methods can achieve 1200 kg per mu."

In December 2013, Yuan Longping, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the father of "hybrid rice," announced in Changsha, Hunan Province that it will launch three major grain high-tech research projects. The three major high-yield food science and technology projects are Yuan Longping's "custom-tailored" scientific and technological research projects based on high, medium and low yield fields in China, including the "Three-Four-Four-Four-Four" high-yield project, the "Three-Year Feeding of a Personal Food High-Yield Project," and the The four-stage super rice yields 1,000 kilograms.

Yuan Longping introduced that the high-yielding fields will achieve the goal of breaking the 1000-kilogram-per-mu yield in the fourth phase of super rice this year. To this end, Yuan Longping and his team have selected 30 strong super-parent parents to use molecular technology to reconstruct the newest and optimal combination. In 2014, 10 100-mu demonstrations will be set up in Longhui County of Shaoyang City in Hunan Province, Zhangpu County in Huaihua City and Rucheng County in Zhangzhou City, aiming to achieve the goal of having two demonstrations that can exceed 1,000 kg.