In January, the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences released the Notice on the Conferment of the 2024 Science and Technology Awards of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences. The achievement entitled “Breeding and Application of High-yield and High-quality Scallop Varieties” won first prize, with OUC as the leading institution. The first contributor is Professor Hu Xiaoli, a member of Academician Bao Zhenmin’s team from the College of Marine Life Sciences.

Professor Hu Xiaoli has long been engaged in genetic breeding research on shellfish. Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Shandong Provincial Taishan Industrial Leading Talent Program, her team has addressed key technologies in the scallop seed industry and achieved a series of innovative outcomes. They have developed a complete set of in vivo and precise phenotyping techniques and high-throughput testing equipment for economic traits in scallops; established a technical platform for functional validation of genes regulating growth and quality traits in bivalves and identified key genes and loci for these traits; optimized accurate whole-genome genotype imputation and efficient genomic selection strategies in scallops; and bred the new Zhikong scallop (Chlamys farreri) variety “Penglaihong No.3” and elite Yesso scallop (Mizuhopecten yessoensis) strains, which have generated remarkable industrial application benefits. “Penglaihong No.3” is also the first superior Zhikong scallop variety to be introduced and farmed in Fujian Province. It has been included in the list of China’s Major Scientific and Technological Achievements in Agriculture and Rural Areas, in the catalogue of outstanding scientific and technological achievements in new fisheries technologies, products and equipment, and in the list of key nationally promoted aquaculture varieties issued by the National Fisheries Technology Extension Center.