To solve the "bottleneck" problem in the seed industry, how far has my country's biological breeding industrialization progressed?

Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced on its official website that 37 genetically modified corn varieties and 14 genetically modified soybean varieties have passed the preliminary review. This means that after the approval of the genetically modified biosafety certificate, the industrialization of biological breeding has taken a more solid step forward.

Corn is the largest grain crop in my country, accounting for about 35% of the total grain planting area and 40% of the country's total grain output. my country has long relied on soybean imports, with a prominent contradiction between supply and demand. In 2022, the import volume exceeded 90 million tons, and the external dependence rate was as high as 82%. Both play a pivotal role in ensuring my country's food security. Realizing industrialization will further enhance the sustainability of my country's food security.

(Photo source: Visual China)

Improved varieties contribute more than 45% to my country's grain production increase

my country is a country with a large population, and ensuring food security is a top priority. Seeds, as the "chip" of agriculture, are crucial to industrial development. Accelerating the promotion and application of transgenic technology in the agricultural field is an inevitable choice with an eye on future international competition and industrial division of labor, and is also an important way to solve my country's food security and sustainable development of agricultural science and technology.

It is understood that my country will launch a pilot project for the industrialization of genetically modified corn and soybean research and experimental fields in 2021, and expand the pilot project to farmers' fields in 2022. In 2023, the pilot project will be further expanded to 20 counties in five provinces, including Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Sichuan, and Yunnan, and seed production will be arranged in Gansu Province. The genetically modified corn and soybean varieties that have passed the preliminary review this time have outstanding insect resistance and herbicide tolerance. The pilot project shows that the control effect on lepidopteran pests such as fall armyworm is more than 90%, the weed control effect is more than 95%, and the yield increase is about 10%, which fully proves the excellent characteristics and development potential of domestic genetically modified crops.

The current GMO industrialization is at a very important time node. This year's Central Document No. 1 has clearly stated that it is necessary to accelerate the industrialization of corn and soybean biological breeding, orderly expand the scope of pilot projects, and standardize planting management. Various policies have been introduced frequently, and regulations and systems such as GMO safety evaluation, major crop variety approval, seed production and operation licenses, and agricultural plant variety naming, as well as related standards and specifications have been continuously revised and improved. The institutional system for the industrialization application of GMO crops has basically been formed.

Data shows that improved varieties contribute more than 45% to my country's grain production increase. Improved varieties empowered by scientific and technological innovation will help improve my country's agricultural technology level and industrial competitiveness, narrow the gap in production capacity with foreign countries, and prevent "being controlled by others." Standing at the critical juncture of the current acceleration of the industrialization of biological breeding, what do scientists think?

my country's breeding products have considerable international competitiveness

"There is still a long way to go to meet the rigid demand for food. Modern biological breeding, including genetic modification technology, has been the direction of development of agricultural breeding technology. my country's biological breeding technology was once at the forefront of the world, but its industrial development has lagged behind significantly. On the basis of ensuring safety, it is crucial to occupy the commanding heights of genetic modification technology." said Xu Zhihong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, chair professor at the School of Life Sciences of Peking University, and researcher at the Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

At present, my country has initially established an independent and complete biological breeding research and development system, and has independent intellectual property rights and core technologies for important genes such as disease and insect resistance, herbicide resistance, drought and salt tolerance, and nutritional quality improvement. Basic research and applied research on genetically modified crops such as cotton, rice, and corn have formed their own advantages and characteristics. At the same time, with the steady progress of genetically modified industrialization in recent years, my country's breeding team and products have already possessed considerable international competitiveness.

"In the next step, we should further promote the industrialization of biological breeding on the basis of respecting science and strict supervision, accelerate the approval and promotion of corn and soybean biotechnology varieties, and contribute to the innovation of modern biological breeding technology."

Genetically modified soybeans can significantly reduce costs and increase efficiency

Soybeans are one of the most prominent crops in my country in terms of supply and demand. my country's annual demand for soybeans is about 110 million tons, but as of 2022, my country's soybean planting area is 150 million mu, and the total output exceeds 20 million tons, which is far from meeting consumer demand. my country spends hundreds of billions of yuan every year to import soybeans from the United States, Brazil and Argentina.

At the same time, there is still a big gap between my country's soybean production capacity and that of foreign countries. In 2022, my country's average soybean yield per mu was only 132 kilograms, while the United States has reached 225 kilograms. The average yield per mu in China is less than 60% of that in the United States, and there has been almost no significant change from 1996 to 2022. The gap between my country's soybean yield per mu and that of the United States is also gradually widening. In 1996, the average yield per mu gap was still 55 kilograms, and by 2022 the gap had expanded to 93 kilograms.

"After years of research and development, my country has independently bred herbicide-resistant and insect-resistant genetically modified soybeans. Field trials have shown that planting genetically modified soybeans can achieve efficient and simplified weed control, with obvious advantages in cost savings and efficiency increases." said Guo Yong, researcher at the Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and post scientist of the National Soybean Industry Technology System.

Through comparative analysis of the weed control effects of conventional soybeans and herbicide-resistant transgenic soybeans, three major characteristics were found. First, herbicide-resistant transgenic soybeans can control weeds more thoroughly and have a good control effect on malignant weeds. Second, the weed control window is relatively long, and it can be well controlled even when there is continuous rainfall or when the field is difficult to operate. Third, the glyphosate herbicide residue used is low, which can effectively achieve crop rotation with other crops.

"In comparison, the cost of weed control can be reduced by 50%-60% by planting herbicide-resistant genetically modified soybeans. In terms of increasing production, because weed control is more thorough, the yield loss caused by weeds is reduced. In addition, the application of herbicide-resistant genetically modified corn and soybeans can achieve crop rotation between soybeans and corn, maintain the sustainable development of agriculture, make our agriculture greener, and achieve outstanding economic and social benefits." Guo Yong said.

Why target the two traits of herbicide tolerance and insect resistance?

Wang Youhua, director of the Research Department of the Institute of Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and a researcher, said that scientists are committed to using modern technology, especially agricultural biological breeding technology, to solve the thorny problems faced by agricultural production, such as the sharp decline in arable land, frequent water resource disasters, and environmental deterioration. The application of transgenic technology to develop new varieties that are resistant to diseases and insects aims to ensure high and stable crop yields, reduce the use of pesticides and environmental pollution; the cultivation of new varieties resistant to herbicides can achieve no-tillage, improve weed control efficiency, and reduce labor costs; the cultivation of new varieties with efficient nutrient utilization is expected to increase fertilizer utilization; the development of new varieties that are drought-resistant and salt-alkali-tolerant can improve the efficiency of water resource utilization and expand the scope of saline-alkali land utilization.

Currently, 71 countries in the world are applying GM technology, of which 29 countries have approved planting and 42 countries have approved the use of GM products. Whether a country adopts GM technology depends mainly on the individual differences in its agricultural development and industrial layout. Countries with rich arable land resources, such as the United States, Brazil, and Argentina, vigorously develop GM planting, which can not only be self-sufficient, but also earn foreign exchange through exports. On the contrary, countries with limited arable land, such as Europe and Japan, are more inclined to develop high-value-added agriculture and meet domestic demand by importing bulk agricultural products. Therefore, although these countries do not plant GM crops, they import GM agricultural products.

At present, the number of genetically modified crops approved worldwide has increased to 32, including important crops such as corn, soybeans, and rapeseed, as well as fruits such as papaya, insect-resistant sugarcane in Brazil, and anti-browning apples in the United States. Each country has approved many industrial applications based on its own conditions, but the most widely used characteristics in the world are herbicide resistance and insect resistance, which have played an important role in ensuring agricultural development.

▲American anti-browning apples

"Let's first look at the herbicide-resistant gene. Herbicide-resistant traits account for more than 80% of the global genetically modified crop area, showing the huge global demand for weed control properties. For thousands of years, weed control has been a difficult problem that urgently needs to be solved in agricultural production," said Wang Youhua.

When we were young, we all learned an ancient poem called "Mercy for the Peasants": "When the sun is at its highest, I hoe the field, and my sweat drips down to the ground. Who knows that every grain of rice on the plate is the result of hard work?" It depicts the hard work of farmers weeding. Although the conventional herbicides currently used are labor-saving, efficient, and effective, they are difficult to effectively distinguish between weeds and crops. They are generally lethal and easy to cause accidental injuries, and there is also the problem of pesticide residues in the soil, which affects the planting of the next crop. Transgenic herbicide-tolerant crops can tolerate specific herbicides, and their industrial application can effectively solve the above-mentioned weeding problems, reduce labor costs, and promote the transformation and upgrading of planting patterns.

Why was insect resistance chosen as another characteristic? According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, crop losses due to pests and diseases exceed $250 billion each year worldwide. Although traditional pesticide control methods can prevent and control pests, the large-scale application of pesticides not only increases production costs, but also poses a serious threat to human life, health and the ecological environment. With the development of molecular biology, scientists have successfully introduced insect-resistant genes into crops such as soybeans, cotton, and corn, achieving insect-resistant characteristics of crops and greatly reducing dependence on pesticides. This not only has significant economic benefits, but also reduces the potential risks of pesticides to the ecological environment and human health.

In recent years, my country has been at the forefront of basic research in biological breeding, and has obtained a number of genes with great breeding value, such as herbicide resistance and pest resistance. Currently, the number of authorized patents is second only to the United States, which ranks first in the world. Although my country currently imports a large amount of genetically modified soybeans and corn from the United States, Brazil, Argentina and other countries, which effectively guarantees the development of my country's animal husbandry, the core intellectual property rights of related technologies and varieties are still in the hands of multinational companies.

"If we want to achieve self-sufficiency in the future, we must accelerate the industrial application of independently innovated genetically modified soybeans and corn, and speed up the cultivation of a number of excellent genetically modified major varieties with complex traits such as broad-spectrum insect resistance and resistance to multiple herbicides, in order to seize the commanding heights of a new round of global agricultural industrial revolution, and make good scientific and technological support and product reserves." Wang Youhua finally said.

Written by reporter Ji Jingjing

Graphic editor/Chen Yongjie