Chapter 126: A Lot of Things
Chapter 126: A Lot of Things (Medium Cup)
11 month 28 day.
This year's winter has finally arrived. The cold wind that traveled a long distance from Siberia, passed through the Loess Plateau, the North China Plain, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain, and the southeastern hills. When it arrived in Lingnan, its power was almost gone.
Jiang Miao was not in the experimental area, but at the southeast foot of Ma Gong Mountain in the northwest of Nanhu Village. He had previously instructed Lu Weibin to contract another piece of mountain land in Nanhu Village as a crop cultivation experimental base, which was here.
In fact, the experimental area is located on the southern foot of Magong Mountain, right next to the crop cultivation base.
The entire crop cultivation base is located on the southeast foot of Magong Mountain, with a total area of 576 acres of four-level terraces. This is also the last vacant land in Nanhu Village. The remaining land is either the reservoir area, residential area, beach, and windbreak.
These 576 acres of terraced fields are divided into 50 planting areas, each with 10 acres; the remaining 76 acres, in addition to roads and isolation zones, are supporting facilities and buildings.
As the company's financial resources become more abundant, Jiang Miao has also stepped up the collection of various seed resources.
In particular, herbaceous and small shrub crops from tropical and subtropical regions have now filled five planting areas.
In fact, it includes more than 50 major categories, including sugarcane, jute, banana, papaya, cassava, sweet potato, peanut, lemongrass, mung bean, etc.
The reason why Jiang Miao likes herbal crops is that the iteration speed of herbal crops is relatively fast.
For example, the 50 bananas in front of him are the endangered species, the legendary Gros Michel banana, which he purchased through his relationship with the Lingnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Through laboratory tissue culture, he has currently cultivated 50 Gros Michel banana seedlings.
It has been planted for more than two months and is still in the seedling stage.
The Gros Michel banana has no seeds, a thick skin and an attractive appearance. Its thick skin makes it resistant to bruising during transportation, and its dense skin also makes it easier to transport, making it an excellent export product.
The reason why it is now on the verge of extinction is mainly because in the early 20th century, yellow leaf disease appeared and infected the Gros Michel banana, causing its production to decline.
Currently, only a small amount of it is grown in southern Siam and Malaysia.
As for why the Gros Michel banana is not made immune to yellow leaf disease through hybridization or genetic modification technology, there must be a reason.
Otherwise, agricultural research institutions or commercial companies in various countries would have done so long ago.
The reasons why the Gros Michel banana cannot be revived through traditional breeding techniques and genetic modification are very complex, including:
Genetic uniformity: The Gros Michel banana is triploid and cannot reproduce sexually. It can only reproduce asexually. This results in its genes being almost completely identical and lacking genetic diversity. It is difficult to produce genes resistant to yellow leaf disease through genetic recombination as in sexual reproduction.
Limitations of breeding technology: Traditional hybrid breeding methods have limited effect on Gros Michel bananas because the chromosomes of triploid bananas cannot pair normally during meiosis and it is difficult to produce effective gametes. Therefore, the probability of obtaining fertile offspring through hybridization with other varieties is extremely low, and it is difficult to introduce disease-resistant genes through hybridization.
Lack of disease-resistant gene resources: There are relatively few disease-resistant genes in the banana's own gene pool, and most of them originate from the pathogen's own genes. This makes it difficult to isolate related genes, resulting in a lack of effective gene resources that can be used to improve the disease resistance of Gros Michel bananas.
Complexity of pathogens: The Fusarium oxysporum that causes yellow leaf disease has multiple physiological subspecies and is constantly mutating and evolving, which increases the difficulty of breeding durable disease-resistant varieties. Even if a single or a few disease-resistant genes are introduced through genetic engineering and other means, it is difficult to resist the multiple pathogenic types of pathogens.
These problems are not difficult for Jiang Miao.
There is a classic line in the movie "Jurassic Park":
"Life finds a way."
In his own tissue culture laboratory, Jiang Miao used various means of inducing gene mutations to continuously stimulate mutations in the leaf cells of the Gros Michel banana.
The first generation of varieties resistant to Fusarium oxysporum were screened out and cultivated into seedlings, which were then used again to induce secondary mutations, and this process was continued for three generations.
Then, the appropriate type is selected from the third generation of mutants, and cell fusion combined with chromosome loss technology is used to fuse the triploid Gros Michel banana mutant with the haploid varieties such as the Chinese banana, causing the loss of chromosomes and thus producing diploid bananas that can reproduce.
The 50 Gros Michel banana seedlings in front of us are the five best performing third-generation mutants. They are diploid Gros Michel bananas selected through cell fusion combined with chromosome loss technology.
The characteristics of these five types of Gros Michel bananas are that they are extremely resistant to Fusarium oxysporum, while retaining the flavor of the original Gros Michel. Moreover, the disease-resistant gene fragments between them are different, which allows them to obtain better disease resistance through natural hybridization, thereby increasing genetic diversity.
In fact, this technology can also be used on ginkgo.
Plants with a single gene can use this technology to increase genetic diversity and thus escape the dilemma of a single gene.
As for why other research institutions do not use cell fusion combined with chromosome loss technology.
The answer is that this technology is currently immature, has a very low success rate, and is very inefficient. The reason for this is that after cell fusion, a large number of fused cells will be produced, and it is difficult to determine which fused cell is successful.
After all, current genetic testing methods cannot perform genetic testing on every cell.
Jiang Miao also relies on the identification panel to select the suitable ones from a large number of fused cells.
As for how to accurately separate, it also relies on the identification panel. By continuously dividing the culture medium of the cell culture dish, then using the culture nutrient solution for multiple dilutions, and using targeted genes to eliminate unnecessary cells, the required cells can be found.
This operation is also time-consuming.
It takes Jiang Miao at least a week to select a suitable variety.
The 50 new Gros Michel bananas in this greenhouse are actually different from the original Gros Michel bananas.
If the genetic sequences of the six varieties are tested, it can be found that although they are related, they are also very different.
Differentiate according to botanical classification.
The previous Gros Michel belonged to the pointed-leaf banana lineage, whose scientific name is Musa acuminata, and is one of the important ancestors of modern banana cultivars.
It has the characteristics of larger fruits and better taste. Most edible banana varieties such as the common Banana Banana belong to this lineage. These varieties have thinner pseudostems, thinner and longer leaves, slender fruit fingers, and are mostly triploid. They are the common types of bananas on the market.
Another lineage of bananas, the long-stemmed banana lineage, with its scientific name Musa balbisiana, is also one of the important wild ancestors of bananas.
Its characteristics are thick pseudostem, thick leaves, short and thick fruit fingers, and most of them are diploid. Pink banana, for example, belongs to this lineage. The fruit has a unique flavor and taste, and there is a certain planting area in southern China.
If the five varieties cultivated by Jiang Miao can be planted on a large scale, the banana family tree will have to have five more pages.
In other words, these five banana varieties represent five new lineages.
The main reason is that the genes have mutated for several generations and then undergone cell fusion chromosome processing, causing them to mutate into having great genetic differences from the mother plant, the Gros Michel banana.
However, since they have not yet bloomed and borne fruit, Jiang Miao does not know the true taste of these new varieties of bananas.
After all, the identification panel can only analyze the flavor substances produced by these genes and the approximate content of various flavor substances through gene sequences.
The taste evaluated by this kind of data is definitely not 100% accurate, or in other words, simple text information cannot help people understand the complex flavor of plants.
Only after growing it and tasting it will you know its true flavor.
According to the growth conditions of these bananas, it is estimated that the first batch of ripe bananas will not be harvested until May or June next year.
After visiting the banana experimental field, he went on to visit other experimental fields.
Only a small part of them were cultivated by Jiang Miao himself, and the rest of the mutant seedlings were varieties cultivated by Zhang Chengdong and others.
There is a huge gap between the varieties cultivated by the two.
The varieties bred by Jiang Miao are all close to success.
The experimental varieties of Zhang Chengdong and others can only be described by one idiom, that is, crooked melons and cracked jujubes.
99% of them are crooked and deformed.
From this we can see the passivity and helplessness of ordinary researchers in seedling research and development.
At the end of the month, on a sunny morning, Mr. Li from Lion Rock Agricultural University brought several school leaders to the headquarters of Hailufeng Company.
Li Zixuan, who had been to Jiangcheng together before, had been waiting at the company gate for a long time. When he saw Teacher Li and others, he hurried to greet them.
"Hello, Mr. Li, I'm Li Zixuan, and I'm Mr. Jiang's secretary."
"Hello, Xiao Li." Teacher Li nodded with a smile.
Led by Li Zixuan, the group arrived at the restaurant on the second floor of the experimental area.
"Teacher Li, long time no see. You are still so energetic!" Jiang Miao said enthusiastically.
Teacher Li responded with a smile: "A Miao, I am so proud of you to see that your business is developing so well! Let me introduce you, this is He Lin, Vice President He." "Hello! Principal He!" Jiang Miao stretched out his hand.
He Lin is a middle-aged man with a square face and glasses. He also extended his hand, and the two shook hands: "Classmate Jiang Miao's company is now world-famous. The school is proud of you."
"This is Zhao Donglai, director of the Research Department."
"This is Zhu Longfu, the dean of the College of Agriculture."
"Hello! Director Zhao, Director Zhu."
"Hello! Jiang Miao."
The group chatted for a while, and after sitting down, they got straight to the point.
Teacher Li said straight to the point: "A Miao, this time I came here mainly to discuss with you whether it is possible to set up an internship base in your company to provide some practical opportunities for our school students."
Jiang Miao did not feel embarrassed about this, and a smile flashed in his eyes: "Teacher, of course there is no problem! Our school has trained me, and I would love to have the opportunity to give back to my alma mater."
Teacher Li nodded slightly and said, "That's great. Today's students are rich in theoretical knowledge, but relatively lack practical experience. By interning in your company, they can be exposed to a real working environment, which will be of great help to their future career development."
Jiang Miao listened carefully, thought for a moment and said, "Teacher, I will arrange for someone to teach the interns so that they can really learn something. However, I also want to hear your thoughts on the internship content and requirements."
At this time, He Lin spoke up: "I think we can let students participate in different projects, understand the operation process of the enterprise, and at the same time give full play to their professional knowledge. For example, they can participate in the development of new products in the R&D department and understand the production process in the production department."
Hearing this, Jiang Miao nodded repeatedly: "Dean Zhu, you are very thoughtful. I will try my best to provide the best internship conditions so that my juniors can gain something."
Teacher Li said with satisfaction: "Then on behalf of the school, I would like to thank you in advance. I believe that through this cooperation, it will not only help students grow, but also inject new vitality into your company."
Jiang Miao smiled and replied: "It is also my honor to be able to do something practical for the school and my fellow students!"
The two sides chatted for more than an hour, and the sunlight shone on them through the window, as if foreshadowing a bright future for this cooperation.
Li Zixuan recorded the conversation.
Jiang Miao looked at the time and found that it was almost time for lunch, so he said, "Dear teachers, it's time for lunch. Let me show my hospitality at noon and we can chat while we eat."
"Haha, then we won't be polite to you as a big boss." Teacher Li joked.
He Lin, Zhu Longfu and Zhao Donglai also followed suit.
Half an hour later, the meal was ready in the kitchen.
There were a total of 8 people from the school, and on Jiang Miao's side, in addition to secretary Li Zixuan, there was Shu Ya who had just finished the experiment, and her secretary Li Wenna, a total of 12 people.
The food was also very interesting.
Several dishes come in two plates.
They are steamed grouper and steamed Egyptian catfish.
Grilled eel and grilled catfish.
Mackerel milt meatballs and Egyptian catfish fish balls.
Black fish milk white fish soup and Egyptian catfish milk white fish soup.
There are also scrambled eggs with tomatoes, Kung Pao chicken, white truffle risotto, braised oysters with shredded ginger, steamed red mantis shrimps, local specialty vegetable cake, stir-fried shrimp with morels, poached chicken, roast goose, blanched Chinese cabbage and stir-fried lotus root with lard.
Jiang Miao pointed at the steamed fish that had already had its meat removed and said, "Teachers, please try this fish and help us compare it."
"Oh?" Zhu Longfu picked up his chopsticks, picked up a piece of grouper, took a bite, and nodded slightly: "This grouper is very fresh."
He picked up another piece of steamed catfish and took a bite. Then he raised his glasses and said, "Is this really catfish? It's very fresh and sweet!"
"Yes, this is the result of our company's efforts in the past six months. Through the use of special feed formulas and breeding in flowing water ponds for about fifty days, we can remove the earthy smell and increase the protein content and sweet flavor components in the body." Jiang Miao explained as he picked up a piece of Egyptian catfish meat and put it into his mouth.
Teacher Li praised the tomato scrambled eggs in front of him: "This tomato scrambled eggs is good, with a strong tomato flavor. It should be the red heart tomatoes cultivated by your company, right?"
"The teacher has a sharp gaze."
"Principal He, try this morel. It's grown by Shuya and is still in the laboratory stage."
He Lin ate a piece of morel mushroom: "Oh? Student Lin is also researching morels?"
"Yes, Principal He, I am currently conducting research on high-yield technology for morels." Shuya nodded with a smile.
One meal down.
Everyone satisfied their appetite.
Although these dishes are not as good as those in big restaurants, the ingredients are fresh and of high quality, and the flavors have raised people's evaluation of these dishes.
As what was said in "A Bite of China": high-end ingredients often only require simple cooking.
Rested for half an hour.
Had a few cups of tea.
They just talked about a few other things.
He Lin put down his teacup and said, "Jiang Miao, the honorary doctorate degree that the school has applied for you has entered the approval stage. It is estimated that it will be completed in December. If everything goes well, it will be announced in January next year. When do you and Shuya plan to come over?"
Jiang Miao stroked the stubble on his chin and said, "Maybe in March next year! I happen to be going to Mo Nan Province next year."
He Lin nodded: "Then you can contact Lao Li directly. Another thing is that an alumnus wants to meet Jiang Miao."
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details."
He Lin gave a brief account of the situation: "Yang Hejun, the CEO of Chengyi Group in Yangcheng, is an alumnus of our school in 93. He is interested in cooperating with Hailufeng Company, but I don't know what the specific cooperation is."
"Okay, Principal He, give me his contact information later."
"No problem." He Lin secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and continued: "For the third thing, let Lao Zhu tell you!"
Zhu Longfu took a document from his assistant and handed it to Jiang Miao: "Jiang Miao, the school wants to hire you and Shuya as part-time professors. If your honorary doctoral degrees are successfully passed next year, the school plans to hire you as doctoral supervisors and promote the establishment of a postgraduate training base in Hailufeng Company."
Although Jiang Miao was somewhat surprised by the school's actions, he and Shuya were indeed qualified.
After all, this is a candidate for the first prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in the future. In the view of Zhu Longfu and others, Jiang Miao and his wife's artificial breeding technology for eels and artificial cultivation technology for white truffles have a 99.9% chance of winning the first prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award.
If these two technologies fail to win the first prize, the selection committee will probably be criticized by public opinion.
Jiang Miao pondered for a moment and asked, "Dean Zhu, if I become a distinguished professor and doctoral supervisor, but I need to manage a company and conduct scientific research, I may not be able to spend a lot of time teaching students."
Zhu Longfu, who had been prepared for this, smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. To be a distinguished professor or doctoral supervisor, you don't have to have students. Jiang Miao and Shu Ya, you can make your own arrangements. The school respects your choice."
"Then I have no problem." Jiang Miao nodded and agreed.
Shuya also nodded.
This kind of thing will help increase one's influence in the academic community and make one's scientific research results more reasonable.
After all, doctoral supervisors and undergraduate students give different first impressions.
Lion Rock Agricultural University also felt that Jiang Miao and Lin Shuya had great potential, so they decided to invest in advance.
If the two win other major awards in the future, the school will also benefit. Even if they don’t win a major award, their company is a large enterprise worth tens of billions of dollars, which will also be beneficial to the school.
(End of this chapter)