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Some participants

Zhang Qifa, academician of CAS, presided at the opening ceremony.

Deng Xiuxin, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of HZAU, delivered a welcoming speech.

Li Jiayang, academician of CAS and the vice minister of MOA, reported at the symposium.

Wilhelm Gruissern, professor of ETH Zurich, reported at the symposium

The Thirteenth International Symposium on Rice Functional Genomes was held at the State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement of HZAU, on 22nd September. It was organized by HZAU and co-organized by the State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice of Wuhan University and the Life Science and Technology Center of China National Seed Group Company Limited. More than 400 experts, scholars and representatives from 16 countries and regions including China, America, Korea, Japan and France, took part in the symposium. The symposium would last for three days. Academician Zhang Qifa was the president of the Organizing Committee.

Zhang Qifa, academician of CAS, presiding over the opening ceremony, introduced to the representatives the origin and development of the symposium on rice functional genomes. He said that since the first successful symposium, researches on rice functional genomes have been developing rapidly and obtained much significant progress with relative findings published in many internationally renowned journals and the superior rice variety cultivated by genomes research findings and new technology promoted worldwide. Deng Xiuxin, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of HZAU, said in his welcoming speech that the symposium on rice functional genomes is becoming an increasingly crucial platform for rice researchers to exchange and share their latest findings. He also extended welcome to all the representatives to Wuhan and congratulations on the successful hosting of the symposium.

On the morning of 22nd, Li Jiayang, academician of the CAS, Wilhelm Gruissem, professor of ETC Zurich, Gynheung An, professor of Kyung Hee University, Zhang Dabing, professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Liu Yaoguang, professor of South China Agricultural University and Wang Xuelu, professor of Life Science and Technology College of HZAU gave their special reports respectively, i.e. “The Regulatory Network of the Rice Ideotype Gene IPA1”,”Research on the Diversity of the Resistance Gene of the Rice Blast”, “Cytokinin Impedes the Blossom of Rice through Reducing Its Ehd1 Protein Activity”, “The Molecular Regulation of the Crop Male Fertility”, “The Origin and Evolution of the Photo-Sensitive Male Sterile Rice“ and “Brssinolide and the Regulation of Crop Plant Type ”.

Besides, 49 experts at home and abroad would participate in parallel session reports and panel discussions around the issues of rice functional genomes, abiotic stress, biotic stress and genetic improvement, plant-environment interaction and new strategies of functional genomes. During the symposium, 153 posters would be presented in the lecture hall of the Center for International Academic Exchanges, top ten of which would be awarded.

The concept of “Green Super Rice” has been gradually recognized worldwide. The symposium would, around the concept, hold a half-day seminar at which Academician Zhang Qifa and other experts would give their keynote speeches.

(By Yang Kaiyan)