China tests potato variety brought back from space by Shenzhou-16 spacecraft

66,500 potato seeds from 20 combinations brought back from space by the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft were recently handed over in Shangdu County, Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.

According to Xinhua News Agency, these seeds traveled in space for more than 180 days and were transferred by the China National Potato Engineering and Technology Research Center to the Shangdu Potato Technology Innovation Center for trial planting and further evaluation and appraisal.

Illustration photo. Source: The Paper

Zhang Linhai, director of the Shangdu Potato Technology Innovation Center, said that space breeding is becoming an important method for creating new genetic resources in China. The next step will be to germinate, grow and plant these “space potato seeds”, and continuously conduct appraisal, evaluation and selection of new potato varieties.

It is understood that the breeding will use the most advanced gene editing technology to support traditional genetic breeding, aiming to edit the potato genome with high precision, speed up the quality improvement process and significantly shorten the breeding cycle, which takes more than 10 years, to a few years.

Space breeding, also known as space mutation breeding, involves placing seeds in a special environment in space, under the influence of harsh conditions such as microgravity, weak geomagnetism, strong radiation, high vacuum, extremely low temperature and extreme cleanliness, causing the genes in the seeds to undergo changes. Compared with traditional breeding, the biggest advantage of space breeding is the high mutation rate, short breeding cycle, and can create a genetic source with superior characteristics such as high yield, early maturity, and pest resistance. This is an important way to create new genetic resources.

Bich Thuan (VOV-Beijing)

Source: https://vtc.vn/trung-quoc-trong-thu-giong-khoai-tay-do-tau-than-chau-16-mang-ve-tu-khong-gian-ar847789.html