Academician Huang He: The breakthrough of synthetic biology lies in the core bacterial species!

Although China's synthetic biology industry is large in scale, its profits are thin and its voice is small. Only by mastering independent core strains and breaking through foreign patent barriers can we achieve a "bend overtaking" on the global track.

Academician Huang He has been deeply involved in the fields of fermentation and light industry biotechnology, and has broken the foreign blockade on DHA production strains, promoting China's transformation from a DHA importing country to a major exporting country.

He admitted that China's bio manufacturing industry is "big but not strong": the industry scale will reach 775.6 billion yuan in 2024, and bio fermentation exports will be 7.5 million tons in 2023 (a year-on-year increase of 12.7%), but profits will decrease by 30% compared to before the epidemic.

Taking lysine salts as an example, corn, glucose powder, and electricity prices in China are higher than those in the United States, and they still need to pay a 3.7% tariff, but the selling price is 800 yuan/ton lower.

Bailun has fully implemented 8 product production lines! From fertilizers to medical aesthetics! How many have you used?

At the same time, many European and American countries have set up barriers through policies such as carbon tariffs, squeezing China's voice.

However, synthetic biology has brought hope for a breakthrough.

Academician Huang He mentioned five typical cases:

The price of bird's nest acid has been reduced from 1 million yuan/kg to 3000 yuan by modifying Bacillus subtilis;

The bio conversion of gutter oil into aviation fuel increases profits by three times;

The cost of erythritol has decreased from 70000/ton to 20000/ton, leading to the emergence of sugar free beverages;

The fermentation yield of malic acid is nearly 200g/L, and after cost reduction, it is expected to support a market worth billions;

The selling price of DHA has decreased from 1.2 million/ton to 200000/ton, achieving export.

Academician Huang He emphasized that the core strain is crucial.

90% of global research focuses on 10 model microorganisms, which are prone to patent barriers, while over a million non model microorganisms can avoid barriers through "one bacterium, one product".

CRISPR gene editing technology is a core tool for strain innovation, but the core technology is located abroad. In China, new proteases need to be developed to improve stability and targeting.

In addition, AI can shorten the development time of microbial factories from years to months, and collaboration with synthetic biology can accelerate breakthroughs.

Only by relying on originality and mastering the autonomy of strains and technology can China's biomanufacturing shift from "leading in scale" to "leading in technology".