On August 8, 2023, the 4th International Forum on Animal Breeding and Embryonic Engineering Biotechnology which was hosted by IMU, Youran S.k. xing Breeding Biotechnology(Group) Co; Ltd., Inner Mongolia Society of Biotechnology(IMSB), Inner Mongolia Zoology Society(IMZS), was held in Hohhot City with the guidance of Inner Mongolia Association for Science and Technology(IMAST) and National Center for Dairy Innovation(NCDI).
Zhang Yong, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering(CAE) who is with Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, acted as the chairman of the forum. Prof. Li Xihe with the School of Life Sciences(SLS) of IMU who is the president of the Institute of Youran S.k. xing and Prof. Hu Wei, dean of SLS and director of the State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock(KSRRBGL) acted as executive chairpersons of the forum. Prof. Cao Guifang, vice president and secretary general of IMSB who is with Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, acted as the secretary general of the forum.
Zhao Ji, chairman of IMAST, Liu Yongbin, vice president of IMU, Yun Zhanyou, vice president of Yili Group and distinguished advisor of NCDI, Yuan Jun, executive director of Board of Youran Dairy and president of Youran Dairy, attended and addressed the forum. The opening ceremony of the forum was chaired by Prof. Li Xihe.
In his address, Liu Yongbin said that Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee had pointed out that “Seeds are the basis of the agricultural modernization. China’s seed industry has to be upgraded. The security of seed industry is as strategically important as national security. Efforts should be made to solve the difficult problems, eradicate weaknesses, better strengths and control risks to realize the independence of the technologies of seed industry and provenance independence.” Liu said that seed industry of livestock, as one important part of the national strategy of “Seed Industry Revitalization”, played a very important supporting role in ensuring national food security and production of green agricultural and sideline products. He hoped that this forum would provide an opportunity of cooperation and exchange for the experts at home and abroad, strengthen the cooperation and interaction of IMU with other universities, scientific research institutions and enterprises at home and abroad and accumulate power for improving the scientific and technological innovation, transformation and application of research achievements and talent cultivation in the field of livestock breeding and embryonic engineering technology and the other related fields in China, addressing the bottleneck problems of “high-end seed source and core technologies” faced by Chinese livestock seed industry and boosting the sustainable, stable and high-quality development of the seed industry.
Present offline at the forum were leaders of IMAR Department of Science and Technology, IMAR Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Hohhot City Bureau of Science and Technology, Hohhot City Bureau of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry and Inner Mongolia Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Sciences and over 220 scientific and technological workers from universities, research institutions and enterprises. The forum was streamlined online and altogether over 5,000 experts and students attended the forum online.
Zhang Yong, academician of CAE, professor with Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University and chairman of the forum, attends the forum.
Liu Yongbin, vice president of IMU, addresses the forum.
Prof. Li Xihe, executive chairperson of the forum, presides over the opening ceremony.
Forum
Group picture
Centering on such topics as advances in mammalian germline biology, formation of agricultural animal breeds and molecular breeding, epigenetic mutation and control of embryo quality, status quo and future development of broiler chicken industry in China and problems and solutions in breeding beef cattle, Azim Surani, fellow with the Royal Society, Britain, Prof. Jiang Yu, dean of the College of Animal Science and Technology of Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Sun Fangzhen, former director of the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wen Jie, chief scientist of the national broiler chicken technology system and research fellow with the Institute of Animal Sciences of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Research Fellow Zhao Yumin with Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, delivered their keynote speeches.
Azim Surani, fellow with the Royal Society, delivers the keynote speech.
Prof. Jiang Yu with Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, delivers the keynote speech.
Research Fellow Sun Fangzhen with the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of Chinese Academy of Sciences delivers the keynote speech.
Wen Jie, research fellow with the Institute of Animal Sciences of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, delivers the keynote speech.
Research Fellow Zhao Yumin with Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences delivers the keynote speech.
At the scientific and technological forum in the afternoon, Prof. Liu Guoshi with China Agricultural University, Prof. Liang Guangcheng with IMU, Prof. Zhang Meijia with South China University of Technology, Prof. Gao Xuefei with Southern Medical University and Research Fellow Sun Wei with S.K xing Academy, delivered the speeches about fertilization and early development of embryos, stem cell induction, basic research about life sciences of genetic editing, and engineering technologies for livestock. Prof. Zhang Yi with China Agricultural University, Prof. Miao Yiliang with Huazhong Agricultural University, Prof. Liu Jun with Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Research Fellow Song Yongli with IMU, Prof. Cao Guifang with IMU, Doctor Yao Yaxin with Yikon Genomics, delivered the speeches about protection, development and application of livestock germplasm resources, research of animal breeding biotechnology, innovations in embryo production technology and new technology for unicellular test. They had detailed analysis and discussions about the achievements made by China in the breeding of cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens and the problems. They also had extensive exchange with the experts and students present at the forum.
Before the forum was launched, Liu Zhiyu, secretary of IMU CPC Committee, Niu Yiding, director of the Division of Science and Technology of IMU and Prof. Li Xihe, accompanied Zhang Yong, academician of CAE to inspect the livestock germplasm innovation base of IMU and exchanged ideas with Zhang about the subsequent development of the base and the initial plan to undertake the national animal breeding. Zhang Yong fully affirmed the early-stage building of the base. He hoped that the base could fundamentally improve the protection of germplasm resources of grass-feeding livestock in IMAR and make use of its innovation capability in stock breeding to solve the bottleneck problem that the high-quality breed sources of grass-feeding livestock of China depend on other countries and create the innovation platform that can connect different stages of grass-feeding livestock breeding so as to provide the support of research teams, technologies and resources and lay a solid foundation for establishing the platform of “National Key Scientific and Technological Infrastructure for Genetic and Germplasm Innovation of Grassland Livestock”.
Liu Zhiyu, secretary of IMU CPC Committee, accompanies Zhang Yong, academician of CAE to inspect the germplasm innovation base of IMU in Horinger County.
