What fruit does the fusion of potato and tomato genomes produce? Starting from pomato, uncovering the path of Shunfeng's biological industrialization

Tech 2023-05-19 11:50:03 Source: Network

Pomato in the laboratory (photographed by Han Xiaopeng)Peaches grafted on plum trees will bear peaches after they survive. Plum trees and peach trees belong to the same family but different genera, have close genetic relationships, and have a high grafting survival rate, which is widely known

Pomato in the laboratory (photographed by Han Xiaopeng)

Peaches grafted on plum trees will bear peaches after they survive. Plum trees and peach trees belong to the same family but different genera, have close genetic relationships, and have a high grafting survival rate, which is widely known. Potatoes and tomatoes are both plants in the Solanaceae family, and when they undergo genome fusion, will they produce potatoes or tomatoes? The scientific research team of Shandong Shunfeng Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has solved a problem that seems to have a big brain hole.

In 2018, Jinan prospectively laid out the application research of genome editing technology and the industrialization project of related achievements, and operated Shunfeng Biology as an entity. Over the past few years, Shunfeng Biology has constantly refreshed people's cognition by virtue of the world's leading genome editing technology, and has gradually reached the eve of industrialization. Just like the magical "combination" of potatoes and tomatoes, waiting for more than 4 years, this "marriage" is about to bear fruit.

A New Species that Refreshes Cognition

On March 8th, a reporter saw a new species that had not yet been named in the Shunfeng Biological Laboratory. The plant in front of me looks like a tomato, but the leaves are small and touch with my fingers, and there is a subtle fuzzy touch on the leaves. We attempted to fuse the genomes of two different species, potatoes and tomatoes, in an attempt to cultivate a new species. This experiment began in 2019. Can the experiment be successful? What species will be obtained in the end? This project is full of uncertainties, but researchers have never given up, "Niu Xiaomu, Vice President of R&D at Shunfeng Biology, told reporters.

After repeated experiments, in November last year, researchers successfully cultivated a new species. Its fruit looks like a tomato, but its skin is not smooth and contains small spots caused by potato genes. After multi-dimensional testing such as gene sequencing and molecular data, researchers have found that this magical fruit is neither a potato nor a tomato, but a completely new species. Researchers combined the English name of potatoes and tomatoes to create a new word and named the new species pomato.

"At present, this new species has no Chinese name." According to Niu Xiaomu, pomato has high nutritional value. The content of lycopene and vitamin C in the fruit is twice that of tomato, while the content of kaempferol and quercetin is 14 times higher than that of tomato. At present, the research and development team mainly focuses on the technical aspect of this new species. China is the country with the highest total production of potatoes in the world, and tomatoes are one of the most commonly cultivated fruits and vegetables in the world. If a new species has high-quality properties such as high nutrition and high yield, and has the value of promoting cultivation in the future, then the research and development of the team is particularly meaningful.

Comprehensive layout of products and patents

Last August, the patent licensing agreement signed between Shunfeng Biotechnology and an agricultural company in the United States officially came into effect, and Shunfeng Biotechnology received the first licensing fee for technology exports. According to the agreement, Shunfeng Biology licensed the other party to use its patent technology related to genome editing with its own intellectual property rights in the field of crop breeding and improvement. In addition to the license fee, Shunfeng Biotechnology will also receive a commercial profit sharing from the company's cultivation and improvement of new varieties based on the patented technology in the later stage. This is the first time that a Chinese biotechnology enterprise has provided patent licensing and technical solutions for American enterprises in the field of genome editing.

"The American company bought two 'scissors' from our genome editing, namely our core bottom technologies CRISPR-Cas12i and CRISPRCas12j." According to Li Guofu, vice president of Shunfeng Biotechnology, American customers highly recognized genome editing's' scissors' and wanted to be the general agent of Shunfeng Biotechnology's technology export in the United States. However, Shunfeng Biotechnology has other options and ideas, which are still under further negotiation.

When Academician Zhu Jiankang's team settled down in Jinan for development, the team not only mastered the core technology of genome editing, but also had several mature products on hand. In the past few years, the team has continuously made key technological breakthroughs. As of now, 169 patents have been applied for, including 34 PCT international patent applications and 45 patent authorizations; The number of products that have already met the conditions for industrialization has increased from a few to over 20.

In January 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued the Guidelines for Safety Assessment of genome editing Plants for Agriculture (Trial), marking that genome editing technology has officially moved from the laboratory research stage to the application field, greatly inspiring enterprises engaged in genome editing technology research and product development. In March of the same year, Shunfeng Biotechnology applied for safety certificates for eight agricultural products, including rice, corn, and soybeans. "According to the information we have received, the two new products, long childhood soybean and high oleic acid soybean, are expected to be the first to obtain safety certificates, which will also be the first batch of genome editing crops to obtain safety permits in China," said Li Guofu.

Layout the whole industrial chain of genome editing

On December 10, 2021, Jinan plant genome editing public technology platform was officially launched. On the same day, Shunfeng Biology signed cooperation agreements with 10 domestic and foreign agricultural enterprises, including Huada Group, Syngenta Biotechnology (China), Longping High tech, Longping Brazil, Syngenta Agrochemical, Huifa Food, Shengfeng Seed Industry, Jiangsu Jindi, Zhongnong Tiantai, Zhongke San'an, and Shanghai Yutian Agriculture, to work together around genome editing tools and technological innovation, creation of good germplasm of major crops, improvement of crop traits for special processing purposes Collaborate on the establishment of a customized agricultural product research, production, supply and marketing system, the application of nutritional function enhancing products in the big health industry, and the development of medicinal plant functional active substances.

There are high-yield rice, dwarf lodging resistant and high-yield corn and other staple crops; Featured specialized germplasm such as corn, rice, and potatoes with improved starch quality; In recent years, Shunfeng Biology has mastered core technologies and a batch of high value-added new varieties, attracting a large number of agricultural enterprises to come.

Shunfeng Biotechnology has laid out a complete industrial chain for the two new soybean varieties that are about to be licensed for listing. At the front end, Shunfeng Biotechnology provides technical support; Upstream, a joint venture was established with Shandong Shengfeng to focus on soybean breeding. Soybean seeds are sold to farmers for cultivation and then recycled to create order agriculture, driving farmers to increase production and income; Downstream, we will collaborate with multiple soybean oil processing enterprises to promote soybean oil with good cooking effects and long shelf life to the market, serving end consumers.

"We have formed a full series of matrices of 'staple grains+cash crop+high value-added characteristic crops'. Only after the safety certificate is approved, can we quickly embark on the road of industrialization, support the company to become bigger and stronger, and support Jinan to build' the seed industry capital of northern China '." Li Guofu said. (Reporter Han Xiaopeng from this newspaper)

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