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SZ to have DNA bank for plants
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Han Ximin
SHENZHEN will set up a bank to store plant DNA in the next two years, once the DNA of 5,000 plants is extracted.
At Shenzhen Fairy Lake Botanical Garden on Wednesday, Zhang Shouzhou, a postdoctoral student from South China Agriculture University, successfully extracted genetic material from the leaf of a Mikania plant through a series of physical and chemical methods in his lab.
Originally from South America, Mikania, a dangerous invasive plant that can kill trees by blocking sunlight, has spread to most of the city in the past 10 years, threatening the city's plant life
Zhang hoped to find ways to root out the problem by carefully analyzing the plant's DNA.
According to Li Yong, head of the lab, they have extracted DNA from 201 plants in the past two years.
The DNA bank will help researchers learn more about the affinity of plants and cultivate new strains and protect the genetic variety of local plants.
It is the first time a DNA bank has been established by one of China's more than 170 botanic gardens. Fairy Lake has set up a special research group and purchased advanced research facilities for the project.
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