China’s “Low Cadmium No.1” Gene Chip Released, Boosting Wheat Breeding Efficiency

It has been learned from the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) that a national key R&D program project, jointly led by IGSNRR and participated in by Northwest A&F University and other institutions, has recently achieved a milestone progress. As one of the landmark achievements of the project, the 60K liquid-phase gene chip “Low Cadmium No.1” was officially released in Beijing, according to China Daily.

Cadmium is a Class 1 carcinogen; long-term intake of wheat with excessive cadmium content can damage organs such as kidneys and bones, posing a serious threat to human health. Traditional screening of low-cadmium wheat varieties relies on phenotypic identification, which is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive but also lacks high accuracy, making it difficult to meet the needs of large-scale production.

To address this challenge, “Low Cadmium No.1” was developed. The project team introduced that the chip, which took five years to develop, is the first gene chip focusing on the detection of traits related to the absorption and accumulation of heavy metal ions such as cadmium in wheat. It integrates more than 60,000 core genetic marker loci and constructs a genome-wide genetic marker network covering gene loci related to more than ten metal ions including cadmium, arsenic and lead, enabling “panoramic” scanning of traits such as heavy metal ion accumulation to assist in the breeding of personalized varieties such as low-cadmium wheat.

Furthermore, “Low Cadmium No.1” achieves multiple functions with one chip. In addition to loci related to heavy metal accumulation, the chip also covers loci related to agronomic traits such as yield, quality and disease resistance, which can meet the needs of various application scenarios such as ecology and agronomy. Notably, the integrated solution from chip preparation to scanners, reagents, supporting software and algorithms can all be independently realized in China, reflecting the country’s independent innovation capability in the field of molecular breeding.

In terms of detection efficiency and accuracy, “Low Cadmium No.1” has established an efficient “data-decision” system. Based on more than 440 core germplasm populations of wheat genome resequencing, the team integrated big data on grain cadmium content and key agronomic traits, and constructed an efficient “phenotype-effect value” correlation model. Through chip detection, quantitative prediction of the genomic estimated breeding value of target traits can be realized.

Researchers can identify germplasm with both low cadmium content and excellent agronomic traits in the seedling stage of wheat, turning complex trait identification into one-click output and significantly improving decision-making efficiency and accuracy. This technological breakthrough is similar to the “low-cadmium rice technology system” developed by Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences led by Yuan Longping, which once reduced the average cadmium content of rice in heavy metal-contaminated areas by more than 90%.

Liao Xiaoyong, chief scientist of the project and researcher at IGSNRR of CAS, stated that the R&D and application of the chip can promote the transformation of China’s low-cadmium wheat variety breeding from traditional methods to high-efficiency and intelligent ones, providing strong technical support for the directional breeding of wheat varieties and efficient utilization of resources in China, as well as safeguarding national food security and green and healthy production.

At present, “Low Cadmium No.1” has completed the transformation of technological achievements, which can meet the detection needs of large-scale wheat samples and lay a solid foundation for subsequent industrial application. Its launch not only provides an effective technical tool for the control of heavy metal pollution in farmland but also injects new vitality into the high-quality development of China’s agricultural industry.