Chinese scientists develop "precision-designed" seeds to boost food security

BEIJING, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have announced a series of major breakthroughs in developing "precision-designed" seeds that can increase crop yields while reducing fertilizer use and enhancing disease resistance, marking a significant advance for food security and sustainable agriculture.

At a press conference held on Monday, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) unveiled the scientific achievements of its strategic priority research program, "Precision Seed Design and Breeding." Launched in November 2019, this flagship initiative has brought together experts from over 30 institutions to address pressing challenges in agriculture, including excessive fertilizer use, frequent crop diseases, and limited arable land.

"Over the past six years, the program has created 37 pilot crop and livestock varieties, enhancing their superior traits. These varieties have been cultivated across nearly 14.48 million mu (about 965,000 hectares), delivering substantial social and economic benefits," said Li Jiayang, CAS academician and chief scientist of the program.

Researchers have identified key genes that govern valuable crop traits such as higher yield, improved nutrient use efficiency, and enhanced resistance to pests, drought and diseases. By leveraging advanced technologies like genome editing, they have developed new crop varieties that achieve both high performance and environmental sustainability.

A standout achievement is the discovery of the OsTCP19 gene, which enables rice to maintain stable yields even when nitrogen fertilizer application is reduced by 20 to 30 percent. "This could help resolve the longstanding issue of excessive fertilizer use in Chinese agriculture," said Chong Kang, CAS academician and researcher at the Institute of Botany under CAS.

In wheat research, scientists have identified genes providing broad-spectrum resistance to powdery mildew. They also developed a new variety named "Zhongke 166," which exhibits strong resistance to Fusarium head blight, a destructive disease. "This variety has already been planted across nearly 1.5 million mu (about 100,000 hectares) and helps reduce pesticide usage," Chong added.

Chinese researchers have also made remarkable progress in breeding technology. Using a homegrown genome-editing tool, they have created new wheat lines that are both high-yielding and disease-resistant, a combination previously difficult to achieve through conventional breeding. In 2024, this work earned China's first biosafety certificate for a gene-edited staple crop, a major milestone in agricultural regulation.

Another pioneering effort involves the rapid domestication of a wild rice species. By "reprogramming" this wild plant, scientists developed a new rice type in a significantly shorter timeframe than traditional breeding methods allow. "This achievement has gained international recognition as a breakthrough that could open new avenues for global food security," Li said.

The program has also yielded results in other crops and in aquaculture. For example, scientists have developed 10 new soybean varieties with higher yield and improved nutritional value, addressing China's heavy dependence on soybean imports. In fish breeding, researchers created a new crucian carp variety, "Zhongke 6," which grows 25 percent faster, has high survival rates, and improves feed use efficiency by 20.1 percent compared to existing breeds. They have also successfully bred a boneless strain suitable for farming.

Among the most acclaimed outcomes is the "Zhongkefa" rice series. One variety, "Zhongkefa 5," delivers yields more than 20 percent higher than popular local varieties in northeast China, performs well in saline-alkaline soils, and ranks among the top five most widely cultivated conventional rice varieties in the country. Another variety, "ZKFZG1," is China's first early-season japonica rice for double-cropping systems, allowing new-season rice to reach markets two to three months earlier than usual.

"These advances represent a fundamental shift in China's crop breeding paradigm, moving from traditional, experience-based methods to precise, predictable and efficient 'molecular design,'" Li explained. "This approach not only shortens breeding cycles but also enables the development of crops tailored to specific needs, such as enhanced nutrition, stress tolerance, or resource use efficiency."

The success of the seed program demonstrates China's growing strength in agricultural science and technology. These innovations are poised to reinforce China's food security, facilitate the shift toward greener farming practices, and provide new solutions to global agricultural challenges, he added.  ■