Personnel Structure

　　The center is consisted of two innovation teams of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), including nine research teams. The center have 10 research fellows, 2 associate research fellows,1 senior agronomist, 13 post-doctoral and about 38 other researchers and technical staffs. Among them, 1 member received the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars Award, 2 members were known as Leading Scholar of Ten thousand Plan, and 9 research scientists were honored the High-level Talents of Shenzhen.

　　Objectives

　　Genomic technologies create varieties, and varieties improve life quality：Crop and horticulture plants germplasms collection and re-sequencing; Cloning genes that involved in the formation or regulating of important agronomic traits, systematically dissecting their functions and genetic regulatory networks; apply research achievements for new crop varieties breeding.

　　Research Areas

　　1）Identifying key genes controlling important agronomic traits in crops: 

　　A. Discovered that GL7 and TGW2 contribute to rice grain size diversity；OsNR2 improve rice yield and nitrogen use efficiency，dissected its molecular mechanism on regulating grain size. Using genetic materials such as mutants, re-sequencing germplasms and genetic populations, we have discovered key genes contributing to appearance quality and processing quality of rice grains, salt tolerance by quantitative genetic analysis. Characterized a new ideal germplasm, “Xiaowei” for rice indoor research system. Cloned a novel gene Reduced Dormancy 5 (RDO5), controlling seed dormancy.

　　B. Investigate the genome variation mechanism of both plant organelles (chloroplast and mitochondria) and their own nucleus genome, as well as the cytonuclear interaction and organelle mutation. We reported that angiosperm species could contain the complex mitochondrial genome structure than certain bacterial genome. the rpl5 gene in mitochondria was investigated in 90 species and their outgroup species in grass family, the copy and transfer mechanism within organelle and nucleus have been elucidated.

　　2）Plant gene expression and regulation: Revealed the importance of endoplasmic reticulum on small RNA functionality; A. Study the fundamental mechanisms of chromatin-based gene regulation，and the biological roles of epigenetic regulation in plant development and environmental adaptation. Our findings improved the understanding of RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) and revealed the dynamic control of transcriptional silencing. B. Established new functional genomics system for random overexpression of plant small RNAs； Found miRNA396-OsGRF4 modules, regulating the size of rice grains and grain yield, with possible applications in breeding high-yield rice varieties. C. Small RNAs and RNA modifications, such as m6A, play important roles in gene regulation at the post-transcriptional level in eukaryotes. We recently revealed that the m6A reader protein YTHDF2 plays important roles in cell cycle regulation by promoting the mRNA turnover in human cells.

　　3）Whole-genome Designed Breeding：Identifying favorable genes for the target traits such as high yield, high grain quality (appearance, cooking and eating), high nitrogen use efficiency, low accumulation of heavy metals, disease and pest resistance, abiotic stress tolerance (drought, salt and alkali, extreme low and high temperature), lodging resistance using multiple omics. Establishing rice whole-genome designed breeding technical system to develop new variety with safety and delicacy, nutrition and health, green and efficiency, wide adaptation and lodging resistance through optimizing favorable genes based on high yield level of the present rice variety. Focusing on the xian rice production areas of South China and the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River, a self-bred thermo-sensitive genic male sterile line, Chun6S is widely testcrossed with high quality rice in South China and self-bred high quality restorer lines, to develop hybrid rice with ideal plant type, high grain quality, high yield, disease and lodging resistance and wide adaptation. So far, many elite varieties (Guangliangyou7217, Chunliangyou534, Chunliangyouhuazan, Shenliangyou121, Zhongshen 1) have been released by marker-assisted selection. 

　　Innovation groups of CAAS

　　Molecular design & genomic breeding of green super rice innovation team

　　Super Rice germplasm Innovation Team

　　Labs

　　Yong Xiang Lab

　　Jianlong Xu Lab

　　Zhiqiang Wu Lab

　　Cuijun Zhang Lab

　　Quan  Wang Lab

　　Qian Qian Lab

　　Shengben Li Lab

　　Guosheng Xiong Lab

　　Qili Fei Lab