Scientists call for enhancing studies on chromosome engineering in plants

Botanists advocate more support to the studies of chromosomal engineering in plants at a recent session of the Xiangshan Science Conferences (XSSC). Under the theme of chromosome engineering of plants and molecular breeding of crops, the 330th session of XSSC convened from 14 to 16 October, 2008 in Beijing, bringing together senior researchers in chromosome engineering and young scientists in the fields of molecular biology and molecular breeding.
Distant hybridization and chromosomal engineering in plants have a unique role to play, Prof. WANG Daowen, a research professor at the CAS Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) and one of the co-chairs of the meeting, was quoted as saying. "Their values in the fundamental and applied research into crop genetic improvement cannot be replaced by molecular biotechnology."
Over the past 15 years, however, there is a lack of systematic support to the studies of chromosome engineering in this country, leading to drastic decreases in the numbers of both research professionals and graduate students in this field. As a result, Chinese studies in this aspect have failed to make key achievements in recent years, according to experts.
Generally speaking, about 30% of the grain-yielding increase is contributed by genetic improvement, pointed out Prof. LI Zhensheng, a well-known Chinese geneticist and another co-chair of the meeting. During the latest decade, the increase of crop yields per unit area has seen a slower speed. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt measures to speed up the grain quality improvement, to keep on backup to the conventional cultivar-breeding studies. At the same time, the government should launch new research programs for the nurture of new cultivars of GM plants.
Of the wide scope of applications of the plant chromosomal engineering, the most significant one is gene mapping and gene transfer among species with closer relationships, stressed participants. Via chromosomal engineering, elite genes of wild species could be transferred to the related cultivated species, creating valuable germplasm resources. With the continuous development of the technology that produces germplasm resources for wheat breeding by combining distant hybridization and chromosomal engineering, theories, techniques and genetic materials have becomes available for improving the qualities of wheat through exogenous genes.
Along with the progress of science and technology, and in light of the demands for new crop cultivars through molecular design, new research breakthroughs are bound to make debut in chromosome engineering, predict scholars.