On July 24th, the International Symposium on Forest Tree Molecular Biology and Biotechnology was held at the Kempinski Hotel in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. The international seminar was sponsored by Northeast Forestry University and organized by the State Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Breeding. More than 390 people including leaders from the National Forestry and Grassland Bureau, the Chinese Academy of Forestry and representatives from home and abroad attended the seminar.
The seminar aimed to discuss significant, critical and cutting-edge scientific issues in the field of forestry molecular biology research in order to further strengthen the exchanges and cooperation between domestic FTMB researchers and international peers. Jiang Liquan, director of the State Key Laboratory of Forest Tree Genetics and Breeding of NEFU, presided over the opening ceremony. Zhou Hongli, vice president of NEFU, Chu Fuxiang, vice president of the China Academy of Forestry, and Song Hongzhu, director of the Innovation Department of Science and Technology Department of National Forestry and Grassland Bureau delivered opening speeches.
Zhou Hongli, vice president of NEFU delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. He first expressed his warm congratulations on the convening of the seminar and introduced the general information of NEFU. He pointed out that trees are the main research object of forestry educators, and innovation is the first driving force for forestry science and technology. Since the beginning of the 21st century, global scientific and technological innovation has been unprecedented. The life science field represented by synthetic biology and gene editing are nurturing new changes, creating unlimited opportunities for related research and opening up new space. He hoped that through this seminar, NEFU will be able to gather the strength of the world and combine the power of all parties to contribute to the international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation in deepening the selection and application of forest trees, and to promote the world's first-class discipline construction. This will help NEFU achieve new and greater achievements in accelerating forestry development, improving the ecological environment and maintaining ecological security at a higher starting point and higher platform.
Vice president of the China Academy of Forestry, Chu Fuxiang, delivered a speech on behalf of the organizer of this international seminar. He first introduced the theme and related content of the seminar, as well as the general information of the State Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Breeding. He said that this seminar will focus on the development of forest tree molecular biology and biotechnology, including development direction, innovation focus and cooperation mechanism. He hoped that the distinguished guests would speak out freely and discuss extensively, deepen and broaden our position and consensus on the international and regional cooperation in forest tree molecular biology and biotechnology, and contribute their own ideas and wisdom to the future development of forest tree molecular biology and biotechnology.
Song Hongzhu, director of the Innovation Department of the Science and Technology Department of the National Forestry and Grassland Bureau, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony as well. She pointed out that forest is an indispensable part of human life. Forest genetic improvement plays a key role in the sustainable development of forest resources, and the application of modern molecular biotechnology has brought new opportunities and challenges. She said that this international symposium has set up an international exchange platform for experts and scholars in forest molecular biology, and is a feast of thinking and innovation as well.
The seminar lasted for three days and set up seven topics: cell-type and wood formation, wood cell-wall component biosynthesis, chemicals, materials, bio-fuels from forest trees, advanced genomic, molecular and biochemical tools for tree research, CRISPR in forest biotechnology, tree-abiotic/-biotic interactions, and epigenome and chromatin regulation of tree growth and development. Around these seven issues, 41 internationally renowned experts from relevant research fields, both domestic and international, have made reports in the meeting.
