Chapter 186 Do you think I’m just a mastermind? Actually I am Mozi!
The Propaganda Department of Tsinghua University has been very busy recently.
Almost every day, scientific research institutes from European and American countries send people to inspect the genetic scissors project, and some directly sign purchase agreements. And every time a foreigner comes to visit, the propaganda department has to write a report quickly, and then Vote to major news media.
Tsinghua University is the highest institution of higher education in China. Foreign scholars usually come to visit, but foreigners are also different from foreigners.
People in Cambodia and Laos are foreigners, people in Japan and South Korea are foreigners, people in Britain and France are also foreigners, and people in the United States are also foreigners. Can they be treated the same?
At the very least, the photos taken will look different!
A few big-nosed white foreigners standing there will definitely have more credibility than a bunch of photos taken during their childhood to bluff people.
In the Propaganda Department Office, Director Liu looked at the article sent by his subordinates and frowned.
"Xiao Zhang, come here, this article you wrote is too mediocre and the focus is not focused enough! Look here, a delegation from the ETH Zurich came to visit our school and negotiate purchases Genetic scissors technology, and then started to introduce the details. This report cannot be written like this.
We know that ETH Zurich is very powerful and is one of the top ten universities in the world, but ordinary people may not know it! You have to highlight how awesome ETH Zurich is and let readers know that such an awesome school has to buy patents from Tsinghua University, so that it can highlight our capabilities.
I remember Einstein graduated from ETH Zurich, right? Let me emphasize this point. Ordinary people must know who Einstein is, and they also know that Einstein is the greatest scientist in the world. Einstein's alma mater comes to us to buy patents, so there has to be a gimmick like this, do you understand? "
"Director, I will change it right away! "The subordinate said.
As soon as Director Liu finished educating his subordinates, the phone on the table rang.
"Hello, this is the Propaganda Department. Principal! What instructions do you have? I have already contacted CCTV reporters, and they are willing to interview, but it is hard to say whether they can be featured on the "Seven O'clock Broadcast"! They must also obey the arrangements of their superiors.
But this kind of thing, even if it is on the "Seven O'clock Broadcast", it will be over at most with a text message and two or three sentences. What you're saying is that even text messages are important. Don't worry, I will definitely try my best! I will take the materials and go to CCTV in person soon. ”
...
Gold-rimmed glasses are sitting in the office, drinking tea and reading the newspaper.
"Einstein's alma mater comes to China to purchase cutting-edge patents", this news headline instantly attracted the attention of people with gold-rimmed glasses.
That's Einstein. In China's public opinion field, he has his own traffic-drawing body. Now he is a foreign Internet celebrity who is very popular in China.
In the print media at that time, there would be a story about Einstein every two days. Readers and Yilin would be too embarrassed to publish it if they did not mention Einstein every quarter!
There are so many stories about how Einstein was mentally retarded as a child, how Einstein skipped school all day long in middle school, how Einstein couldn't find a job after graduating from college, etc.
Even though the slice of Einstein’s brain looks a little small in size, the public will tell you seriously that this is a slice of Einstein’s brain when he was a child!
It is precisely because of the four words "Einstein" that the gold-rimmed glasses immediately read the content of the report.
"Why is it the patent for the genetic scissors again! I know that your patent is selling well, so if you don't need someone to buy the patent, just send a report!" The gold-rimmed glasses curled his lips with disdain. .
In recent days, I have seen several similar reports in newspapers about gold-rimmed glasses. The content is that a foreign university or scientific research institution came to Tsinghua University to purchase genetic scissors technology. By the way, I would like to talk about it. How powerful the genetic scissors technology is and what a great scientific research breakthrough it is.
Every time he saw relevant news, there would always be a ray of anger in Gold-rimmed Glasses' heart. He would think of the time when he asked for a signature but was rejected. Although he had successfully retaliated against Zhang Wei, in the end he didn't even get a signature. Yes, it cannot be said that both sides suffer, and no benefits are gained.
Now, when he sees that the research results that he could have gotten a share of have achieved repeated success, and even foreigners from developed countries in Europe and the United States have said yes, he naturally feels very unhappy.
“Isn’t it just about selling a patent? Isn’t that what it is? You still publish it in newspapers every day. You are crazy about wanting to be famous! Are you afraid that the people across the country will not know that you have produced scientific research results!” Gold-rimmed glasses He curled his lips disdainfully.
It has to be said that the sense of smell in gold-rimmed glasses is not very sensitive. At this time, he thought that the series of domineering articles in the newspaper were just the queen of the Qing Dynasty selling her own melons and boasting, taking credit in the media and creating some influence on public opinion. force.
He obviously hasn't realized that this game of chess is aimed at him.
...
At this time, Zhang Wei had arrived at the Hybrid Rice Research Center thousands of miles away.
The report materials have been prepared, and the projector has also projected the PPT on the curtain directly in front. Zhang Wei stood on the podium and glanced at the audience. There were already many people sitting in the venue, but The best viewing seats directly in front of the curtain were still empty.
Finally, a group of about seven or eight people, surrounded by an old man, walked into the venue.
This is an old man who has gone through many hardships but is still energetic. His face is engraved with the traces of time, and the deep wrinkles are like ravines in farmland. His eyes were firm and deep, revealing a sense of persistence. His gray hair was neatly combed back, making him look particularly energetic. He is not tall, but his posture is tall and straight, which always gives people an impression of perseverance and unyielding!
Seeing the old man arriving, everyone in the venue stood up in unison.
"He actually came to listen to my report! This trip is really not in vain!" Zhang Wei couldn't help but feel excited.
Zhang Wei immediately cheered up and prepared for a big fight.
"Everyone is here, Teacher Zhang Wei, let's start!"
Zhang Wei nodded, then cleared his throat, and began to report: "Dear Dear leaders and experts, hello everyone, thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to participate in my academic report. Today, I will introduce to you a new gene editing technology, gene scissors!
First, let me introduce myself. My name is Zhang Wei, from the Department of Biological Sciences of Tsinghua University. The new technology of genetic scissors was developed by my team and has been published in Science magazine! I believe that many leaders and experts present have already seen my rough work! ”
After Zhang Wei introduced himself, almost everyone present showed surprised expressions. They thought that the young man who looked only twenty years old on the podium was a host, but they didn’t expect that it was today’s presenter. Speaker.
“You look so young! It feels younger than the students I teach, maybe in their early twenties? "
"Is he the one who developed the new gene editing technology? How is this possible? Are you too young? Not even all the hair has grown! "
"I thought that the youngest person who could develop technology like genetic scissors must be in his forties. Why is he a twenty-year-old child? ”
"I have read that paper, and the first author is indeed named Zhang Wei. It seems that this achievement should be made by him. And I think Tsinghua University should not be deceiving people!"
"Definitely. They are trained by the Youth Class of Tsinghua University! Those who have finished college at the age of fifteen or sixteen have been doing scientific research for several years.”
“It is worthy of being able to produce world-leading results at such a young age. It’s Tsingta University, it’s really a gathering of geniuses!”
Everyone discussed in a low voice, and couldn’t help but sigh in a low voice: “You are so young, you are really scary!”
On the podium! , Zhang Wei has already begun to introduce the genetic scissors technology.
These scientists studying hybrid rice all have a background in biology, and genetic scissors technology is not difficult for them to understand, so Zhang Wei briefly introduced a few pages of PPT, and everyone had a deeper understanding of genetic scissors.
However, for Zhang Wei, just introducing the genetic scissors technology is not enough. He also wants to talk about the application of genetic scissors technology in hybrid rice.
Zhang Wei pressed the electronic laser pointer and the PPT entered the next page.
“Next, I would like to focus on the important role that genetic scissor technology can play in the development of hybrid rice!”
“Huh?”
"Huh?" "Haha!"
As soon as Zhang Wei said this, there was a noisy sigh in the scene. Although they were all modal words, they were all filled with doubts and Disdain!
Those on the scene are all hybrid rice experts, and many of them are among the best in the world. If they go to the rice-growing countries in Southeast Asia, they will be regarded as national treasures.
It is no exaggeration to say that when it comes to the research and development of hybrid rice, these experts from the Hybrid Rice Research Center dare to say that they are second in the world, and no one dares to say that they are first in the world!
Even if you are an expert on rice in the United States, when you go to the Hybrid Rice Research Institute in China, you have to lie down even if you are a dragon, and you have to lie down even if you are a tiger!
In front of so many of the world's top hybrid rice experts, Zhang Wei dared to talk about the research and development of hybrid rice. This is clearly a trick in front of Lu Ban!
For a moment, many people in the venue looked at Zhang Wei with contempt.
You are an expert in molecular biology, we admit that.
But in terms of hybrid rice, what qualifications do you have to pretend to be a big-tailed wolf in front of us? Who gave you the courage? It is simply arrogant and ignorant of the heights of the world!
Scientific research, every other line is like a mountain. People like this who study molecular biology spend all day in the laboratory, maybe they have never even been on the farm, right?
You may not be able to tell the difference between rice seedlings and leeks, but you still have the nerve to tell us about hybrid rice?
Someone beside the old man even asked softly: "He has explained this genetic scissor technology very clearly. Otherwise, today's briefing will end here?"
The old man shook his head. He shook his head and said, "Don't worry. Since we have invited him here and he has prepared report materials, you might as well listen to what he has to say."
......
On the podium, Zhang Wei continued to show the next PPT.
“With genetic scissors, researchers can precisely edit specific locations in the rice genome, including introducing new genes, eliminating certain genes, or modifying specific gene sequences.
So I It is believed that the application of genetic scissors in hybrid rice is mainly reflected in the precise modification of the rice genome to improve the characteristics of rice and increase its stress resistance.
Next, I will give the following examples, assuming that rice. We can use genetic scissors to precisely cut out a gene that makes rice susceptible to damage in drought conditions, and potentially replace it with a more drought-resistant version of the gene, thereby enhancing the rice's ability to survive drought conditions. Viability and yield.
Suppose there is a disease that poses a serious threat to rice yield, such as bacterial blight, and we can modify the genes related to disease resistance in rice to enhance its resistance to the disease.
For another example, in terms of yield, we can use genetic scissors to improve the photosynthetic efficiency of rice, increase the photosynthetic area of leaves or improve the light energy conversion efficiency, thereby increasing rice yield.
In addition, we can edit the genes of rice to improve the plant type of rice, making the rice ears plumper and having more grains. The yield of rice will naturally increase. A thousand kilograms per mu is not enough. Dream! "
Zhang Wei shouted the slogan "One thousand kilograms per mu", which immediately caused a commotion.
Hybrid rice yields one thousand kilograms per mu, which is the dream of the entire hybrid rice research center. .
But in 2005, the yield of ordinary hybrid rice in the experimental field was only more than 800 kilograms.
The super hybrid rice project that Academician Yuan Longping personally led the research did not exceed the yield per mu of 1,000 kilograms until the fourth generation of Y Liangyou 900, and that was already in 2014.
It was still 2005, and there was still a big gap between the rice yield per mu and 1,000 kilograms. Hearing Zhang Wei draw a pie with "1,000 kilograms per mu", the old man couldn't help but feel a little moved. There is no way, the temptation of this cake is too great.
On the podium, Zhang Wei continued: "In addition to yield, genetic scissors can also be used to improve the taste, nutritional value and storage performance of rice. We can edit genes related to rice starch synthesis and change rice The texture and taste of rice can make rice softer and chewier.
The proportion of protein and vitamins in rice can be increased by modifying genes related to rice protein and vitamin content. The rice produced in this way has more nutritional value.
In addition, we can also use genetic scissors to enhance the cold tolerance of rice. As long as the genes related to the cold tolerance of rice are modified, it can survive under low temperature conditions. It can still grow and bear fruit normally, which will help expand the scope of rice cultivation and increase food production in cold areas.
We can also optimize the plant structure of rice. By editing genes related to rice tillering and plant height, we can breed rice varieties with strong tillering ability and moderate plant height, which can make rice more suitable for dense planting and high-yield cultivation methods.
We can even use genetic scissors to achieve apomixis in rice. As long as the genes related to meiosis are cut out, the seeds of F1 hybrid rice can clone themselves and produce offspring that are genetically identical to the female parent, thereby avoiding the problem of trait segregation in the F2 generation in traditional hybrid breeding. ”
As Zhang Wei spoke more and more deeply, the scene gradually became silent.
The original expressions of disdain gradually turned into surprise, and then into shock!
Some people have never thought about what Zhang Wei said, and even if some people have thought about it, they have never thought about it so deeply
Many experts at the scene have thought about factors such as disease resistance, drought resistance, and cold resistance.
Improve photosynthesis, improve plant structure, improve taste, etc. Few people can think of it.
The most important thing is what Zhang Wei said at the end, using genetic scissors to achieve apomixis in hybrid rice. No one at the scene could have thought of this!
But for hybrid rice, this is the most important point!
Seeds are the foundation of crops. The fundamental purpose of all research on crops is to cultivate better seeds.
However, hybrid rice breeding has been unable to bypass the problem of trait segregation for decades.
The concept of trait separation in hybridization was discussed in junior high school biology textbooks when they talked about dominant traits and recessive traits. The textbook at that time used peas as an example.
Some peas have red flowers and some have white flowers. The red flowers are a dominant trait and the white flowers are a recessive trait.
A pea with red flowers is crossed with a pea with white flowers. As a result, all the first generation have red flowers. Because the combination of red and white can only express the dominant trait of red.
Then these pea flowers are self-pollinated. When the second generation of peas comes, three-quarters will have red flowers and one-quarter will have white flowers. Because there will be a quarter that are completely recessive traits of white flowers. This phenomenon is trait segregation.
The separation of traits in hybrid rice breeding means that in the second generation of breeding, a batch of traits will appear that are different from the first generation, and some seeds will be different from the first generation, thus changing the overall quality of the seeds. Difference.
And as the number of breeding generations increases, there will be more and more separation of traits, and the quality of seeds will become worse and worse.
Otherwise, in modern agriculture, we have to buy seeds from seed companies. If farmers breed their own crops, the crops they grow will only become worse from generation to generation.
It’s not because the seed companies deliberately misbehave in order to make money, but it’s because they can’t pass the biology test! Segregation of traits determines farmers’ own breeding, and the quality will become increasingly poor.
The use of genetic scissors mentioned by Zhang Wei can solve the problem of character separation, so that rice can achieve apomixis.
If it succeeds, it will be equivalent to solving one of the biggest problems in hybrid rice!
This is the core problem of hybrid rice. It has been an unsolvable problem since the birth of hybrid rice. Moreover, countless scientific researchers have racked their brains and cannot think of a way to solve this problem.
Now, Zhang Wei has provided a way to solve the problem. Let’s not talk about whether this method can eventually become a reality. Just saying that there is such a method is already a major breakthrough in hybrid rice research!
At this time, the way everyone at the scene looked at Zhang Wei was completely different from a few minutes ago!
You are an excellent molecular biologist, we admit it! But I never expected that you would have such a profound understanding of hybrid rice!
If nothing else, with this solution to trait separation, you are qualified to come to the Hybrid Rice Research Center and pretend to be a big-tailed wolf for once, and we also have to pretend to be huskies to coordinate with your performance.
I thought you were just trying to get in front of Lu Ban, but I don’t know how high the world is.
But you didn’t say you were Mozi!
We are all skilled farmers and craftsmen, no one is worse than the other!
(End of this chapter)