Seeds are the microchips of agriculture. In March 2025, the Shijiazhuang Bio-breeding Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance was established, becoming Hebei province's first technological innovation cooperative organization in the field of biological breeding. Over the past year, member enterprises have engaged in deep collaboration around the research, development, and application of bio-breeding technologies, including promoting liquid-phase chip detection, whole-genome selection for intelligent breeding, and the sharing of germplasm resources. What is the collaborative mechanism within this alliance? What tangible changes have these explorations brought? And how will these changes inject new momentum into the crucial "microchips" of agriculture? An investigation provides insights.

Rapid Gene Testing and Sharing Reduces Breeding Costs

On June 4th, inside the molecular breeding smart laboratory of Shijiazhuang Boruidi Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Boruidi) in the Shijiazhuang High-tech Zone, seed and leaf samples, after pre-processing, were fed batch-by-batch by robotic arms into instruments for DNA extraction, library construction, sequencing, and analysis. This facility can process 10,000 samples per day and over 3 million samples annually.

Founded in 2017, Boruidi is a national-level specialized and sophisticated "little giant" enterprise focused on the R&D and service of molecular detection and breeding technologies for animals and plants. Such high detection efficiency is attributed to its self-developed liquid-phase chip technology platform.

"In the past, solid-phase chip technology was commonly used for gene detection. This technology was monopolized by foreign companies, making detection costs very high. Breeders wanting to conduct large-scale testing couldn't afford it, which hindered the speed of breeding iterations. Our liquid-phase chip technology breaks this foreign monopoly. It's fast, and the cost has been reduced to about 10% of what solid-phase chip technology cost at the time," said Gao Xuefei, General Manager of Boruidi's Crop Business Division.

How can such a technological platform be made accessible to more seed companies? "In 2024, the Central No. 1 Document called for expanding and accelerating the industrialization of bio-breeding. Most seed companies in Shijiazhuang relied on traditional hybrid breeding, with breeding cycles starting at ten years. Boruidi's rapid gene testing platform is precisely what many seed companies need. For Boruidi, the larger the sample volume, the lower the detection cost. It's a mutually beneficial situation," explained Dong Shengqi, Deputy Director of the Shijiazhuang Seed Management Station.

Against this backdrop, the Shijiazhuang Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau and the Seed Management Station surveyed the needs of local seed companies, which led to the establishment of the Bio-breeding Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance. Many of the samples tested by Boruidi come from alliance member enterprises.

Since the alliance's formation, the gene detection efficiency of member enterprises has improved. Hebei Zhaoyu Seed Industry Group Co., Ltd. (Zhaoyu Seed Industry) is a national high-tech enterprise with the qualification to produce and manage transgenic corn varieties. By the end of 2025, the company had developed and certified 157 corn varieties and obtained 183 new plant variety rights.

Corn breeding is a long-term systematic research endeavor based on germplasm screening and genetic recombination. The germplasm materials used in breeding carry unique, stable genetic combinations, and their genetic background directly influences breeding potential for traits like high yield, disease resistance, and stress tolerance, forming the foundation of seed industry innovation. Corn inbred lines are core breeding materials with highly homozygous genotypes and are the basis for corn hybrid breeding.

Wang Yeguo, Vice President of Zhaoyu Seed Industry, explained that crossing inbred lines with significantly different genetic backgrounds can fully stimulate heterosis, increase corn yield, and enhance comprehensive resistance to stress and lodging. Analyzing the genetic background of inbred lines helps breeders scientifically and precisely match breeding materials, thereby improving the success rate of corn breeding.

"Under the traditional breeding model, researchers needed to spend two to three years in the field for continuous observation, recording, and comprehensive analysis to understand the genetic characteristics and application value of germplasm materials. Now, relying on Boruidi's gene detection technology, it takes as little as 7 days to decipher the genetic code of germplasm and obtain a complete, precise genetic 'instruction manual'," Wang Yeguo said.

Empowered by this technology, Zhaoyu Seed Industry completed the genetic background analysis of over 100 corn inbred lines in just one year. While detection efficiency has greatly increased, costs have also significantly decreased.

On June 10th, at the experimental base of Hebei Jinong Seed Industry Co., Ltd. (Jinong Seed Industry) located on Shijiazhuang's East Third Ring Road, a batch of corn inbred lines had just been planted in the field. After the corn sprouts, technicians will cut leaf samples to send to Boruidi for gene testing.

Jinong Seed Industry is a technology-based seed company engaged in integrated corn breeding, propagation, and promotion. "In previous years, the cost of traditional imported solid-phase chip single-sample testing was prohibitively high. We simply couldn't afford to test 5,000 samples. Boruidi's single-sample testing cost is only 50 yuan," said Wang Jianmin, General Manager of Jinong Seed Industry. In 2025, Jinong Seed Industry signed a cooperation agreement with Boruidi to complete the genetic analysis of 5,000 inbred lines.

Another core advantage of rapid gene testing is accuracy. The locus detection rate of Boruidi's liquid-phase chip is greater than 96%, with higher accuracy in variant locus identification. Hebei Chunmiao Seed Industry Co., Ltd. (Chunmiao Seed Industry), a Shijiazhuang-based seed company focused on wheat breeding, has been continuously working on developing varieties with water-saving, high-quality, stress-tolerant, and high-yield traits.

Previously, to screen whether wheat seeds were strong-gluten wheat, Chunmiao Seed Industry had to wait for the seeds to mature, grind them into flour, and send them to qualified testing units for dough analysis. This required two kilograms of seeds per test, with a single test costing one to two thousand yuan. Now, before sending wheat samples for final testing, the company first sends them to Boruidi for preliminary screening.

"Out of 100 samples analyzed by Boruidi, perhaps only 30 contain the strong-gluten wheat gene. We then only select those 30 for final testing, saving the cost of testing the other 70 ineffective samples," said Zhao He, a researcher at Chunmiao Seed Industry.

From 2024 to 2025, Chunmiao Seed Industry created over 8,000 germplasm materials with different characteristics like water-saving, stress tolerance, and high yield. Based on gene test results, they precisely screened 10 strong-gluten and medium-strong-gluten wheat strains, some of which have entered provincial crop variety regional trials.

Testing that is fast, low-cost, and high-precision allows seed companies to accurately understand the genetic makeup of seeds at the germination stage. A large number of materials lacking the target traits can be directly eliminated in the laboratory phase.

"The alliance has precisely connected cutting-edge bio-breeding technology with the testing needs of seed enterprises, driving a significant improvement in the efficiency of the wheat and corn breeding industry chain in Shijiazhuang," Dong Shengqi said.

Broadening Breeding Pathways and Shortening Breeding Cycles

On June 2nd, in the experimental field of Hebei Landezenong Seed Industry Co., Ltd. (Landezenong), the wheat variety 'Landemai 856' was about to be harvested. Landezenong is a Hebei provincial specialized and sophisticated "little giant" enterprise, a provincial-level leading agricultural industrialization enterprise, and also a member of the alliance. Wheat varieties bred by this company have been introduced, certified, and widely promoted in multiple provinces and cities, including 'Landemai 856'.

"'Landemai 856' is favored by farmers for its advantages of frost resistance and high yield, but some of its individual traits are not ideal, which limits its promotion in more regions," said Sun Liqun, General Manager of Landezenong.

In the past, to improve a single trait of a mature wheat variety, one could only use traditional backcross breeding, gradually introducing the target trait from donor material. Each backcross generation required planting and observing for a season, with the entire process taking over ten years. After the alliance was established, Landezenong signed an agreement with Boruidi, entrusting the improvement of 'Landemai 856' to Boruidi's targeted improvement technology platform.

"Through precise molecular marker detection combined with backcross improvement technology, we can directionally introduce excellent genes while preserving the original superior traits of the variety. The improved lines can stabilize in 2 to 3 generations and then be rapidly multiplied," explained Gao Xuefei.

"We will see results by the end of next year. This speed was unimaginable in the past," Sun Liqun said, noting that this is the first time the company has used this technology to directionally improve the genes of a fine variety, and they are full of expectation.

Beyond applying gene editing technology, member enterprises are also using the alliance to explore practices in multiple directions, including haploid breeding and transgenic breeding.

As the supporting unit for the Hebei Corn Haploid Breeding Technology Innovation Center, Jinong Seed Industry has achieved large-scale application of haploid breeding technology, creating over 50,000 corn DH (doubled haploid) lines annually.

"Traditional inbred line selection requires 6 to 8 generations of continuous selfing to obtain pure lines, a process taking 3 to 4 years by itself. Haploid breeding induces haploid plants, then undergoes chromosome doubling to obtain homozygous inbred lines in one step, compressing the creation time of inbred lines to seven or eight months and significantly shortening the breeding cycle," Wang Jianmin said.

But creating a large number of homozygous inbred lines is only the first step. The next challenge is efficiently screening the inbred lines containing target excellent genes from the massive pool of materials.

"In the past, we planted tens of thousands of materials a year. Breeders would walk field by field, examining each one. By the end of a growing season, we might only screen a few hundred. Now, this work can be done in Boruidi's laboratory," Wang Jianmin said.

In Boruidi's lab, staff conduct gene testing on 5,000 corn DH line leaf samples from Jinong Seed Industry to find ideal samples containing disease-resistant genes and genes for high combining ability. These selected samples are then planted in the field for validation, while the rest are directly discarded.

"Testing first, field validation second—this changes the breeder's field screening from a large-scale audition to a curated selection. Our field planting volume has been reduced by over 60%, and the breeding cycle has been halved," Wang Jianmin explained.

Transgenic breeding is an important direction for the alliance in promoting corn seed industry innovation. On Zhaoyu Seed Industry's product display stand, over ten certified new corn varieties are neatly arranged. The specimen bottles for 'Jingke 857D' and 'Liyu 209D' are labeled "transgenic corn."

"The development of these two varieties owes much to the alliance's role," Wang Yeguo said, noting that 'Liyu 209D' is one of the first transgenic corn varieties in Hebei.

At the alliance's inception, the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences Corn Research Institute and Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co., Ltd. (Dabeinong) were introduced as external technical support units. One is a key scientific research force in China's corn breeding field, and the other is a leading domestic enterprise in transgenic corn trait R&D.

In the joint technological攻关 for transgenic corn variety breeding, a clear collaborative chain has formed within the alliance: The Beijing Academy introduces the corn transformation event genes provided by Dabeinong into core backbone inbred lines. After new varieties are bred, Zhaoyu Seed Industry promotes them. Throughout this process, Boruidi participates in gene detection.

"The alliance links the three key links in the transgenic breeding chain, transforming the past model of a single enterprise working alone into a new collaborative攻关 model of 'trait company + detection platform + seed enterprise'," Gao Xuefei said.

From the precise improvement of molecular marker-assisted breeding, to the rapid line development of haploid breeding, to the collaborative攻关 of transgenic breeding, these three technological paths, while各有侧重, point towards a common goal: shortening the breeding cycle and improving breeding precision. The alliance is a crucial保障 for member collaboration.

Breaking Cooperation Barriers and Sharing Germplasm Resources

From its inception, member enterprises of the alliance have been discussing a long-term foundational project: each member unit would compile and submit their accumulated core germplasm materials. Boruidi would uniformly conduct gene testing to build the alliance's Germplasm Resource DNA Fingerprint Database.

Germplasm resources are the source of breeding and the core competitiveness of seed companies. Precisely because of competition, seed companies have been reluctant to easily share their germplasm resources.

"Germplasm resources are as precious as technological inventions. In the past, if a breeder spent over a decade selecting an inbred line, and another company used it to create a new variety, it was difficult to trace its parental origins. Rights protection was challenging, and breeding achievements could easily be used无偿," said an industry insider long engaged in breeding.

Seed companies operating independently led not only to resource isolation but also大量重复劳动—multiple breeders using the same or similar parental materials to advance in parallel in similar breeding directions.

"Once the database is built, each seed material will have a unique 'genetic ID card'. Whose material was used in breeding, and whose genes are present in a newly bred variety, can be determined with a single test," Gao Xuefei said. Even in disputes, the seed material's "genetic ID card" can serve as evidence for rights protection, allowing seed companies to share放心.

Having the "genetic ID card" as a保障 technically breaks down the past barriers to cooperation and exchange among seed enterprises. Currently, several seed companies are participating in building the database, organizing the submission of wheat and corn germplasm resource materials.

Based on the database's technological foundation, alliance members have established commercial rules for germplasm resource exchange and cooperation, clarifying a scientific and reasonable利益分配机制 for germplasm resource use and成果转化: revenue from new varieties would be split 30% to the父本contributor, 30% to the母本contributor, and 40% to the party implementing the cross.

With rights and interests保障, this has prompted some seed companies to already reach cooperation agreements. Jinong Seed Industry used the corn backbone inbred line L117 provided by Zhaoyu Seed Industry作为亲本, successfully组配出a hybrid combination with excellent overall performance. This hybrid combination participated in the national corn variety regional trials in 2025.

"The exchange and sharing of germplasm resources can achieve complementary advantages among member enterprises, significantly推动breeding efficiency," Dong Shengqi said.

Currently, Boruidi and Jinong Seed Industry are jointly developing a whole-genome selection intelligent breeding prediction model, promoting the research and application of the more advanced whole-genome selection intelligent breeding technology, and accelerating the move towards the Breeding 4.0 era.

"We hope to clarify the degree of influence different genes in seeds have on key elements like yield and resistance, ultimately forming a prediction model. In the future, if the gene data of a newly bred inbred line is input into the model, it could automatically predict which material it should be crossed with to produce a superior combination," Gao Xuefei explained. This would shift breeding decisions from经验判断to truly data-driven.

"Boruidi handles gene detection and analysis, while we at Jinong Seed Industry conduct field planting validation. Over the next two to three years, we will adjust the model parameters based on validation results to make it more mature and完善," Wang Jianmin stated.

As collaboration within the alliance deepens, external resources are also converging towards Shijiazhuang's seed enterprises,合力exploring科企协同innovation on a larger scale.

On April 12th, the Hebei Provincial Academician Workstation at Hebei Zhaoyu Seed Industry Group Co., Ltd., led by Academician Liu Xu of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a plant germplasm resource expert, was officially inaugurated. The workstation assembled over 20 corn breeding experts from research institutions like China Agricultural University and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to协同突破key core technologies in corn breeding and accelerate成果转化.

Zhaoyu Seed Industry incorporated Boruidi into the academician workstation system to assist in the rapid detection and screening of germplasm materials for the workstation.

"The expert team covers top national breeding experts responsible for breakthroughs from 0 to 1, while seed enterprises are responsible for scaling up and落地from 1 to 100, truly打通the 'last mile' of breeding成果转化," Wang Yeguo said.

As one breeder from an alliance company noted, the era of going it alone is over;只有抱团can one go further. This攻关in the seed industry "microchip" is accumulating greater power through the method of协同创新.