Huang Qin suppressed his nervousness and walked through the long corridor to an office.
He looked at the words 'President's Office' on the door plate, swallowed, and his mood became complicated.
It was a great mixture of emotions mixed with excitement, nervousness, uneasiness, and anticipation.
Like a mixed alcohol bomb, it can make his adrenaline surge instantly.
"Calm down, calm down. I'm just reporting to the General Guard. It's not a big deal."
Huang Qin wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead and knocked gently on the door.
"Come in!" An extremely familiar voice came from inside.
Hearing Tang Que's voice, Huang Qin's mood instantly calmed down a lot.
Although it was his first time to meet Mr. Wei, he was very familiar with reporting work in front of Director Tang and would never have stage fright.
Push the door open, go in, sit down at the conference table, and start reporting work skillfully.
During this period, his main job was to cooperate with Syngenta to develop gene-edited crops. The work went smoothly and the results were remarkable.
As he spoke, he couldn't help but raise his chest and raise his head, becoming more confident.
"To sum up, these are all the genetic crops we have so far, including seven or eight types of soybeans, corn, rice, peanuts, etc. The varieties are very rich and the product power is extremely strong."
"Since the seeds of genetic crops cannot be saved, the second-generation traits will be greatly attenuated, so mass production technology for rapid breeding is very important. This is also the direction in which we will focus our investment next..."
Wei Kang suddenly interrupted him: "Have you been using the third-generation gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas 9?"
Huang Qin nodded: "That's right."
Wei Kang and Tang Que looked at each other and their expressions became serious: "There may be major hidden dangers regarding patents."
Huang Qin said with some confusion: "This technology is easier to use than the previous two generations of technology. It can edit genes quickly and accurately, and the cost is very low. It is free for academic use. Even if it enters the commercial application stage, it means handing over some patents." It’s a question of fees.”
Wei Kang smiled slightly: "The free ones are the most expensive, but the most important thing in the research and development stage is to produce results first, and then consider other factors, so this is not your problem."
Tang Que said: "Have you considered using the first-generation gene editing tool zfn zinc finger protein?"
Huang Qin shook his head: "Plants are different from humans. They have an extra cell wall. It is difficult for ZFN technology to break through and enter the cells. As a result, the technology cost will be unbearable and the yield rate is also very low. It is only suitable for laboratories. rather than industrialized production.”
He continued: "In fact, we also considered the second-generation talen gene editing tool. One of its advantages is that the natural protein that cuts DNA chains is secreted by plant bacteria, which has unique advantages for plants."
"However, the yield of talens protein is very low. It is mainly obtained from natural plant bacteria and cannot be mass-produced quickly at low cost. Moreover, this patent has not expired, and we still have to pay patent fees."
"crispr-cas 9 is the choice we made after comprehensive consideration. It is cheap, easy to use, fast, accurate, and wins in all aspects. If we do not use this gene editing tool, it will be difficult for us to achieve industrial mass production. After all, it is widely used Across the country, the amount of seeds required is astronomical.”
Wei Kang showed an appreciative smile: "You have thought very carefully and chosen the most appropriate tools. You have done a great job. As I said before, this is not a problem for you researchers."
He turned to look at Tang Que: "Is there any way to circumvent the patent?"
Tang Que pondered for a moment and said: "CRISPR is the natural immune system of bacteria. Cas9 is a protease found in bacteria that is specifically used to cut gene fragments. According to this principle, different bacteria may have different genes. Editing protease."
"If we can conduct massive screening and find a new gene-editing protease in bacteria, we can register our own patent."
"However, the workload will be very large, and we will also need massive bacterial resources."
Wei Kang said categorically: "If you don't have long-term worries, you must have short-term worries. Gene editing tools are the lowest tools. We must not teach others about patent issues. Thalassemia gene drugs have this hidden danger, but they are just a drug." That’s it, it’s not a big problem. Besides, drugs are already expensive, so paying some patent fees won’t affect our income.”
"But seeds are different from medicines. This is an issue related to the national economy and people's livelihood. Originally, genetically modified seeds have been blocked by foreign countries. If someone catches a loophole in the patent again, there will be big trouble."
He looked at the two of them and said solemnly: "Sanqing must have its own gene editing tools. This is a matter of principle."
"Tang Que, you immediately set up a special team. We will go all out to conduct a massive screening of bacteria to find new gene editing proteases. I will provide you with the greatest convenience."
"Huang Qin, don't stop your work here. Continue to cooperate with Syngenta to improve the mass production breeding technology of super soybeans. When Tang Que makes progress, you must also cooperate in time and apply the new technology as soon as possible. Come to mass production.”
They both nodded at the same time.
Tang Que said slowly: "CRISPR exists in almost all bacteria and archaea. In addition to bacteria, I will also look for it in archaea. This aspect should be more likely."
Wei Kang said with a smile: "Great, just if you have an idea, I will contact the Chinese Academy of Sciences and hope to get their help. Their scientific expedition team often travels to various extreme environments and has a rich archaeal biobank. .”
Archaea are organisms that appeared in the ancient times of the earth. They have the strongest adaptability to extreme environments. Therefore, they are still widely distributed in various extreme environments on the earth. They are found everywhere in high-temperature hot springs, salt lakes, deep seas, glaciers, and polar regions. trace.
They often represent the limits of life. The most heat-resistant, high-salt-resistant, acid-alkali-resistant, and extremely anaerobic organisms discovered so far are all archaea.
It is speculated that archaea may have developed special adaptation mechanisms to adapt to extreme environments through long-term evolution, which is a huge treasure trove for scientific research.
People are constantly discovering some novel and useful abilities from archaea, which have great potential for the development and application of biotechnology.
The high-fidelity DNA polymerase PFU enzyme used in polymerase chain reaction is derived from thermophilic archaea. People used the enzyme of this archaea to create a PCR machine, which made a huge breakthrough in genetic detection technology.
The purple membrane protein on the cell membrane of halophilic archaea has been used as an excellent biological nanomaterial for optical information processing and photoelectric response components due to its unique photochemical properties.
Certain halophilic archaea can also accumulate large amounts of biodegradable plastics within their cells. Their superior material properties and low production costs make them promising applications in the field of medical materials.
In short, the extreme enzymes produced by extremarchaea are a treasure trove for the development of industrial enzyme preparations.
If we start from the direction of archaea, we may be able to make new discoveries and breakthroughs in gene editing proteases.
Tang Que couldn't help but perked up and his eyes shone: "Archaea have a unique cell structure and genetic information processing system. They are similar to bacteria in cell morphology and other aspects, but they are different in genetic information transmission systems such as genome replication, transcription and translation. There are big differences. If we can obtain a sufficient bacterial library, I believe we will be able to find a new gene editing protease."
Wei Kang laughed: "Then I'll look forward to good news."
After the two left, he immediately dialed Academician Chang's phone number.
Academician Chang has extensive connections in the biology community and quickly agreed to help.
Then he contacted President Wang De of Syngenta. The background and energy of state-owned enterprises are very strong, and they should be used if possible.
In this way, Sanqing's genetic laboratory quickly got in touch with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and began to work hard on new independent gene editing tools.
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