Bao Zhenmin: Bring the former Haizhen to the people's table

Scallops are famous seafood treasures, in the 60s of the 20th century, China's annual output of scallops was only tens of tons, excessive traditional fishing methods, its output once fell sharply, the development of artificial breeding was immediately put on the agenda
.
Seed is the key to the development of
artificial farming.
After more than half a century of unremitting efforts, China's aquatic scientists have developed a series of scallop seedlings, seedlings, production technologies and facilities, setting off the "third wave"
of marine aquaculture.
Bao Zhenmin, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor of Ocean University of China, devoted himself to the research of scallop genetics and breeding, and cultivated new varieties of scallop in 7 countries such as "Penglai Red" with the research team, which freed China's scallop aquaculture industry from the situation of relying on wild seeds and promoted China's aquatic molecular breeding technology to the international frontier
.
Now, China's annual output of scallops is nearly 2 million tons, becoming a cheap and stable bulk shellfish, and the former sea treasure has entered thousands of households
.
Bao Zhenmin stressed that it is necessary to implement the spirit of "establishing a big food concept" and "asking rivers, lakes and seas for food", although China has become the world's largest aquaculture country, it is still necessary to continue to break through the bottleneck of improved aquatic products, rely on germplasm innovation, aquaculture technology innovation, expand new development space, and ensure the stable, sustainable and high-quality development of
the aquaculture industry.

From sea treasures to large shellfish, scallop farming enriches the people's vegetable basket

Outlook: What is the importance of shellfish aquaculture such as scallops?

Bao Zhenmin: Scallops are a type of
shellfish.
One of the eight treasures of seafood that we are familiar with, "dried scallops", is its closed-shell muscle dried products
.
Due to the delicious meat and rich nutrition, many species of scallops are important marine fishery resources in the world, and the ctenophore scallop in the north of China and the magnificent ctenophore scallop in the south are important economic species
.

Aquatic products contain high-quality protein and unsaturated fatty acids, which are very beneficial
to human health.
China is the world's largest aquaculture country, the total output of aquatic products accounts for about 70% of the world, supplying one-third of the protein demand for Chinese, and shellfish aquaculture accounts for more than
60% of China's total marine aquaculture production.

In addition, marine cultured shellfish mainly filter feed single-celled algae, which has a significant
effect on carbon reduction and sequestration.
Shells store carbon dioxide for a long time in the form of calcium carbonate and are internationally known as one of
the most efficient and greenest technologies for agricultural protein production.
The total carbon sink of shellfish aquaculture in China reaches more than 2 million tons per year, which is equivalent to more than 800,000 hectares
of voluntary afforestation.

Therefore, aquaculture, including shellfish, has great value in ensuring national food security, helping rural revitalization, and protecting the ecological environment, and is of more strategic significance
to the healthy and balanced development of China's large agriculture.

"Outlook": How did scallops go from being a sea treasure to serving them on the table of ordinary people?

Bao Zhenmin: Scallops have been a valuable seafood
for a long time.
The development of China's scallop aquaculture industry has grown up with the advancement of
seedling technology.

In the 70s of the 20th century, Professor Wang Rucai of Qingdao Ocean University and others solved the problem of seed breeding technology and promoted the rapid development of
China's scallop aquaculture industry.
However, in the 90s of the 20th century, the large-scale disease outbreak of scallops and the industry fell into a trough, and everyone formed a consensus: the lack of high-yield and stress-resistant seeds is a key constraint to industrial development
.

My team and I have carried out systematic research
around the genetic breeding of scallops.
We evaluated the germplasm resources of scallops, established the BLUP genetic evaluation technology platform and whole genome selection breeding technology system of modern shellfish breeding technology, especially made important progress in high-throughput genotyping technology, and developed a series of typing technology, which made whole genome selection possible in the actual breeding practice of aquatic organisms
.
The innovation of core breeding technology has greatly accelerated the breeding process
.
We have successively cultivated new varieties
of scallops approved by 7 countries such as "Penglai Red".
In 2021, China produced 3.
3 trillion high-quality large-size shellfish seedlings, of which more than
300 billion scallop seedlings were seeded.

Now, scallops have indeed been served on the table of ordinary families and fallen off the "altar"
of precious sea treasures.
For decades, under the condition of rising prices of some agricultural products and seafood, the price of scallops has remained basically stable and has become one of the
cheapest aquatic products.

Outlook: What difficulties did you overcome in the process of conducting scallop research?

Bao Zhenmin: We have indeed overcome many difficulties
in the process of carrying out shellfish genetic breeding research, creating a new molecular breeding technology system, and establishing scallop seed industry technology and seedling production system.

First of all, the foundation of shellfish breeding in China is very weak, and the basic accumulation of breeding should start from wild seeds, which can be said to be from
scratch.
At the same time, as a ectothermic animal, the growth and development of scallops are greatly affected by temperature and other environments, and the breeding experience of livestock and poultry is often not suitable for aquatic breeding analysis, so it is difficult to learn from
it.
In addition, the establishment of many technical systems needs to start from basic technologies, such as when developing high-throughput genotyping technology, we took the lead in proposing the idea of developing liquid phase chips, and completed the research and development of basic core technologies in more than 3 years
.
When it was about to be popularized and applied, the original selected sequencing platform company collapsed, and the early technology research and development efforts based on the sequencing platform were in vain
.
The team members mustered the courage to start all over again and finally succeeded
.

Aquatic breeding is very difficult, and most of the breeding farms are far from the towns, and the living conditions are poor
.
Since scallop breeding takes place in early spring, many of our scientists have spent the Spring Festival at the nursery for more than 30 years, relying on perseverance and dedication
.
Fortunately, through our efforts, China's scallop aquaculture industry has got rid of the situation
of relying on wild seeds.

Research and develop "good seedlings" and take the road of aquaculture industrialization

Outlook: At present, what is the status of China's shellfish breeding technology in the world?

Bao Zhenmin: On the whole, including the core technology platform of breeding genetic evaluation and the production system of healthy seedlings, China's breeding technology and seed industry system are in an advanced position
.
China has established the world's largest shellfish seed production system, which can basically meet the demand
for high-quality seedlings for aquaculture production.

For example, we took the lead in establishing molecular breeding technology systems such as molecular-assisted breeding of shellfish and whole genome selective breeding, and bred the world's first new variety of shellfish "Penglai Red", as well as a number of new varieties of high-yield and stress-resistant scallops such as "Penglai Red No.
3", "Haiyifeng No.
12" and "Haida Jinbei", leading the development trend
of shellfish and even aquatic breeding.
The low-cost, high-throughput genotyping technology developed by us has also been applied to the genetic analysis of species including crops, livestock and poultry, aquatic organisms and model animals, and has been evaluated by more than 160 internationally renowned scholars as "a major improvement and preferred technology for aquatic molecular breeding"
.

In addition, we have also completed the fine genome mapping of a variety of shellfish, and established the world's largest and most diverse genome comprehensive database, making China the country
with the most genetic resources of shellfish.

Outlook: At present, what are the problems that need to be overcome in shellfish breeding in China?

Bao Zhenmin: The main shellfish of marine aquaculture in China are bivalves, such as scallops, oysters, etc.
, like other large-scale agricultural production, excellent varieties, breeding patterns and disease prevention and control and other elements are the key to the sustainable and high-quality development of the
industry.

With the development of the industry, the demand of farmers for excellent varieties is increasing
.
Although the cultivation of new varieties in shellfish culture has contributed greatly to the stable production of the industry, the most important bottleneck restricting the healthy development of the industry is still the lack of "good seedlings", and the cultivation of breakthrough excellent varieties, especially disease-resistant and stress-resistant varieties, still has a long
way to go.

On the other hand, the scallops currently farmed in China mainly include ctenophore scallops, bay scallops and Ezo scallops
.
Except for the ctenophore scallop, which is native to China, all others are alien species
introduced from the United States and Japan.
Due to long-term cumulative inbreeding and obvious germplasm degradation, coupled with the construction of germplasm resource bank to be improved, there is a risk of "stuck neck" in scallop germplasm resources, which needs to be paid attention to and effective measures should be taken to solve it
.

Outlook: How to deal with the shrinking trend of mariculture space in China? How to further tap its industrialization potential?

Bao Zhenmin: After more than half a century of hard work, China has become a major aquaculture country
in the world.
However, with the development of industrialization, urbanization and the need for ecological environmental protection, the space for aquaculture has been shrinking in recent years, for example, the cultivation area of scallops has shrunk by more than
30%.

Therefore, in order to ensure the stable and sustainable development of the aquaculture industry, in addition to relying on germplasm and aquaculture technology innovation to effectively improve production efficiency, it is also necessary to expand new development space and develop new breeding models
.
For example, aquaculture is carried out on land using barren saline water and low-lying land, offshore deep-sea facility aquaculture is developed in the ocean, and fishery resources restoration and ecological aquaculture are carried out by lakes and reservoirs
.
In addition, we should strengthen the research and development of intensive technologies such as circulating water facility aquaculture and factory aquaculture, develop new and efficient aquaculture models and technologies, and enhance the growth potential
of fishery development.

Ask for food from rivers, lakes and seas to ensure that the "blue granary" is safe and abundant

Outlook: What do you think of the "Big Food View"?

Bao Zhenmin: The convenience of boats and the benefits of fishing salt have been important marine industries
since ancient times.
It is the obligation and mission
of aquatic science and technology workers to develop high-quality aquatic industry, ensure China's food security, and provide high-quality protein for the people.
Although China's aquaculture industry is large, the foundation is weak, there are many technical shortcomings, incomplete system, small industrial scale and other problems also need to be solved
urgently.

Nowadays, under the development strategy of maritime power, caring for the ocean, understanding the ocean, and understanding the ocean have become a strong consensus
of the whole society.
To establish a "big food view" and ask rivers, lakes and seas for food, we must regard fishery production as food production, not only to ensure the basic space needs of industrial development, but also to actively develop new technologies, new spaces and new ways
.

For example, Hainan has unique conditions for the development of aquatic seed industry, and is an important breeding and production base
for aquatic seedlings in China.
In recent years, Hainan Province is planning to build a base for the southern multiplication of aquatic products and cultivate a 100-billion-level aquatic seed industry
.
The Sanya Research Institute of Ocean University of China has set up a laboratory
of tropical marine biological germplasm resources and seed industry engineering in Hainan.
Our team has used this laboratory to make important progress
in the research and development of breeding technologies for excellent varieties of eastern star spot, golden pomfret and vannamei shrimp.
It is expected that in the near future, specialized and excellent new varieties suitable for deep-sea facility aquaculture can be bred to help the development of
deep-sea aquaculture in the South China Sea.
This can not only make the country's "blue granary" more abundant, but also serve the "Belt and Road" initiative and serve the national strategy
of the ocean.

Outlook: Can aquaculture and ecological environmental protection be balanced?

Bao Zhenmin: In the development of the aquaculture industry, China has embarked on a new ecological and environmental protection path of "low-carbon footprint production mode", which also proves that aquaculture and environmental protection can be taken into account
.

It should be emphasized that the aquaculture industry is essentially a green, environmentally friendly and efficient way
of protein production.
China's aquaculture model, especially shellfish culture, absorbs a large amount of nitrogen and carbon from water bodies, effectively alleviating the problem
of eutrophication in waters.
According to preliminary studies, 2 million tons and 1.
8 million tons
of carbon dioxide are fixed from seawater and freshwater in China every year due to aquaculture.
Different from the bait fish farming in Western developed countries, China's aquaculture industry is generally greener and more efficient
.

Handling the relationship between fishery and ecological environmental protection is related to the healthy development of the industry, so the field of aquatic products should be scientifically arranged, scientifically cultivated, scientifically managed, and strengthened aquaculture
based on ecological management.
At the same time, it is necessary to make overall planning and strengthen the government's construction and investment in the basic aquaculture engineering system, such as the treatment of shrimp tail water in pond culture, which can form a circular aquaculture engineering system
by combining with shellfish culture.
At present, aquaculture and ecological wetland system, water-retaining fishery and water-clean fishery system are all good models for the coordinated development of
fishery and ecological environmental protection.

In addition, some basic work should also be paid attention to, such as fully doing basic research such as the ecological capacity of water areas and biodiversity surveys, and scientifically and orderly carrying out increased aquaculture and utilization to avoid the destruction
of genetic diversity of natural resources.

Outlook: How can the aquatic seed industry be further developed to serve the national marine strategy?

Bao Zhenmin: First, strengthen the scientific and technological innovation of the aquatic seed industry, establish the idea of innovation-driven development, and pay more attention to basic research and carry out the research and development of core common technologies of aquatic breeding in view of the weak basic research of aquatic products, otherwise development has no stamina and innovation is not sustainable
.

The second is to attach importance to the construction
of breeding technology system and industrial technology system.
The seed industry is a systematic project, and it is important
to build a complete seed industry chain.
In terms of the construction of seed engineering system, a series of original seed farms, fine seed farms and genetic breeding centers established in China have played an important role in supporting the development of China's aquatic industry, but the upstream and downstream organic combination of seed industry system has not yet been formed
.
We should make full use of modern scientific and technological achievements, especially information technology, to integrate the breeding technology system and industrial system into a joint breeding seed industry system
.

The third is to pay attention to talent training and team building
.
Compared with other seed industries, the aquatic seed industry lacks talents, and it is necessary to explore a new model of talent training in the aquatic seed industry, and increase the intensity
of training and introduction.
In particular, we urgently need to build an industry-oriented core technical team of the seed industry and build a modern seed industry with enterprises as the main body of innovation, which requires the joint efforts of the government, scientific research institutes and enterprises to solve this problem
.

The fourth is to intensify the construction of policies and regulations
.
At present, in some biotechnology breeding fields, our policies and regulations lag behind, which limits the application and promotion
of new technologies in germplasm innovation.
In addition, relevant policies and regulations on intellectual property protection in the aquatic seed industry, as well as financing loans, insurance and variety subsidies, also need to be adjusted and improved
.

(Source: "Outlook")

China Food News(November 29, 2022, Version 06)

(Responsible editor: Wang Jiayi)