China food security: 530,000 new germ plasma resources collected during largest-ever survey
- Survey findings expand the variety of crop germ plasma resources in the national resource repository by 21.4 per cent
- China also built a relatively comprehensive protection system for germ plasma resources amid Beijing’s increasing focus on food security
China’s largest-ever survey of germ plasma resources collected over 530,000 new types of genetic material over the past three years amid Beijing’s heightened focus on the seed industry’s pivotal role in ensuring food security.
The survey, which took place more than a decade after the previous edition, for the first time also added aquatic resources to its original scope of crops and livestock, the People’s Daily said on Sunday.
The findings expanded the variety of crop germ plasma resources in the national resource repository by 21.4 per cent, pinpointed 51 livestock and poultry germ plasma resources with potential use value and identified the biological characteristics of 312 pivotal aquaculture species, according to the newspaper.
“These newly collected resources have significant potential for industrial development, with some harbouring excellent genes and some exhibiting distinct regional characteristics,” said Li Lihui, the deputy director at the office of the Third National Agricultural Germ Plasm Resources Census.
Germ plasma resources are seeds, plant or animal tissues that are kept for the genetic material they contain and are used in breeding programmes and for research.