Research
You are here:> Home> Research Achivements

Research Achivements

China "Mango Space Breeding Cells" Survived

Author:South Subtropical Crops Research Institute From:Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Date:2017-09-15 Hits:
     In order to improve mango varieties structure, Hainan state farms fruit industry group limited company cooperated with South Subtropical Crops Research Institute to carry out mango space breeding, which is the first trial in the world to explore new methods and new ways of mango mutation breeding through spacecraft.

     The embryonic cells of mango brought back by manned spacecraft Shenzhou XI last November after a 33-day space mission have now grown new tissues at a lab in South Subtropical Crops Research Institute (SSCRI) in Zhanjiang(Figure 1).

     The hope with space breeding is that seeds of mangoes subjected to grow in the harsh environment of space, like radiation, sterile conditions and zero gravity, will trigger the plants to mutate, spawning new, advantageous genetic traits far more quickly than they would on Earth.

      The next stage task of the project is to study how the mutation can affect the fruit and further cultivate the breed that can become "space mangoes". It is hoped that space mangoes are expected to be insect-resistant, higher fruit quality and more output produced.


Figure 1 The conceptuses that grew out of the embryonic cells brought back from space


Figure 2 Two researchers make studies on the conceptuses that grew out of the embryonic cells brought back from space. 
 
    World Tropical Zone