The Synthetic Biology Research Center (hereinafter referred to as the SBC) is a pioneering initiative of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University. Leveraging the resources of the five centers within Haixia Institute of Science and Technology &School of Future Technology, the university is committed to assembling a world first class team of Leading talent in scientific and technological innovation. This interdisciplinary and complementary team is dedicated to breaking new ground in original research, advancing from zero to innovation and establishing a preeminent research platform for crop synthetic biology both nationally and internationally. The overarching goal is to elevate crop synthetic biology to a leading discipline on a global scale. By integrating existing university resources, the SBC highlights the unique research strengths in crop synthetic biology. It has also facilitated the establishment of the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University–Tianjin University Joint Research Center for Crop Synthetic Biology and is actively working towards the creation of the Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Synthetic Biology.
Currently, the SBC comprises a team of 27 dedicated professionals, including 5 professors, 9 associate professors, 4 lecturers, and 3 postdoctoral researchers. The center has a group of national natural science talent, such as Distinguished professor of the Chang Jiang Scholars Program, Distinguished professor of the Minjiang Scholars program by Fujian Province, Distinguished Young Scholars of the National Natural Science Fund, one winner of the Fujian Yunsheng Young Science and Technology Award, and one recipient of the Fujian Youth May Fourth Medal.
The center primarily focuses on key crops, including Arabidopsis, rice, quinoa, soybeans, and tobacco. It aims to address critical technical challenges associated with China's dual-carbon strategy. By leveraging the perspective of crop synthetic biology, the center aspires to spearhead the new agricultural green revolution, thereby establishing China's international leadership in this emerging field. Additionally, it seeks to enhance China's capabilities in the artificial design and chemical synthesis of multicellular eukaryotic plant genomes. The center is committed to developing innovative technologies and methodologies in plant research, which will further advance breeding techniques for crops, cash crops, and medicinal plants.
the SBC has published over 30 publications, including Cell, Nature, and and other high-level international academic journals such as Developmental Cell, PNAS, Nature Communications, New Phytologist, Current Biology, and Molecular Plant.