<strong>China: STMA Organizes Mid-term Inspection of Execution of Tobacco Genome Program</strong>

Source from:  Yunnan Tobacco Information Network 06/12/2014

The Department of Science and Technology of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) held in east China's Qingdao City recently a meeting on conclusion and technical acceptance of research projects under China's major exclusive tobacco genome program and also mid-term inspection of the program.

Attending the meeting were 51 people including a panel of seven experts with Southwest University, the Institute of Crop Science of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, the Biotechnology Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Yunnan Academy of Tobacco Agricultural Sciences, etc, as well as leaders and chief researchers of the Development of Science and Technology of the STMA, the Tobacco Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and five research projects under the program.

At the meeting, the panel of experts performed technical acceptance of two research projects under the program upon their conclusion – the 2012 major exclusive project of Selection and Appraisal of Tobacco Mutants executed under the leadership of the Tobacco Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the project of Over-Expression of Tobacco Whole Genome and Establishment and Application of the RNA Interference System jointly executed by the Biotechnology Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Tobacco Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

The panel of experts also conducted mid-term inspection of three major exclusive projects executed under the leadership of the Tobacco Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences – the project of Appraisal of High Tobacco Aroma, Resistance to Bacterial Wilt and Resistance to TMV Mutants and Orderly Improvement of Zhongyan 100 and Cuibi No. 1, the project of Genetic Exploration and Functional Marker Development of Important Characters of Tobacco and the project of Tobacco Resistance to CMV and Alternaria Alternate Chain Molecule Marker Development and Improvement of Resistance of the NC82 and K326 Varieties.

The panel of experts heard reports on technical acceptance of the two projects already concluded, raised questions about research under the projects, and conducted evaluation and technical acceptance of the two projects. Meanwhile, the panel of experts checked the overall progress in the execution of the three projects still underway, and heard reports given by the Tobacco Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences on general situation of the work of research for tobacco genome.

The panel of experts proposed that in accordance with the focal characters of tobacco mutants and genetic exploration, and by reference to the experience in establishing the arabis mutants database, efforts be made to improve the banks of real objects and databases of tobacco mutants, keep promoting scientific and technology research to higher levels, and achieve breakthrough in basic theory development and industrial application, in striving to make one achievement after another in scientific and technological research. Enditem