At present, Inner Mongolia University Laboratory Animal Research Center is the Key Laboratory of Mammalian Reproductive Biology and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education; the construction organization of National Transgenic Animal Technology Research Center and the Breeding Base of State Key Laboratories jointly supported by both the Ministry of Education and the Province attached to Mammalian Reproductive Biology and Biotechnology of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It is also the National Key Discipline of Zoology; the Key Construction Discipline of 211 Project and the Key Discipline of Reproductive Biology in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Now, it is the discipline master program, doctoral program and post-doctoral research program of zoology and with the post of Cheung Kong Scholar Chair Professors.
Academician B.Shorgan, the founder of the laboratory, has cultured the first test-tube goat in the world and earned his doctorate in 1984 in Japan. After after returning home, he established the research institution based on the superiority of livestock resources of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the year of 1986. At the same time, academician B.Shorgan became the first one who conducted research of mammalian reproductive biology and biotechnology centers on in vitro fertilization nationwide. The research direction was gradually formed by undertaking national and regional major scientific projects over the years.
The Animal Research Center focuses on mammalian fertilization biology, domestic animal embryology and genetic engineering, as well as conservation and utilization of high-quality germplasm resources and other research directions. It strives to build an “open, mobile, joint and competitive” research platform. Meanwhile, the Center has already made certain achievements on such aspects as discipline construction and scientific research, team construction and talent cultivation, open communication and operations management, etc. Since the establishment of the Key Laboratory, it has undertaken and completed many researches of NSFC (Natural Science Foundation of China) and autonomous region key research projects, such as the National “863” Program, the fundamental research during “the Seventh Five Year Plan”, the applied research during “the Eighth Five Year Plan”, the pilot-scale study during “Ninth Five Year Plan” and the achievement transformation study during “Tenth Five Year Plan”, as well as the National Torch Program. The research of in vitro fertilization on goat and cattle was also deeply and systematically studied. In the aspect of fundamental research, new progress has been made in occurrence mechanism of germ cell, fertilization process, cytobiology and molecular biology of early embryonic development, culture and differentiation of germ stem cell (spermatogonia stem cell), gene modification, somatic cell cloning and gene modification of livestock (such as, cattle and sheep), and research and development of livestock IVF-ET technology.
In reproductive biotechnology applications, research and application development of the livestock in vitro fertilization, embryo transplantation IVF-ET technology has formed its own special features and advantages. After years of fundamental research and applied study, a set of stable and systematic factorial volume production technology of test-tube cattle and test-tube goat has been carried out. Researchers have successfully cultivated the first “test-tube sheep” and “test-tube cattle” within the country and gained “Breeding Livestock IVF-ET Industrialization Technology” with our own Independent Intellectual Property. Meanwhile, more focusing development demonstration base were built up which led the IVF-ET technology into industrialization. At present, there are four research directions of the laboratory, namely, mammalian reproductive biology, biotechnology and industrialization applications, stem cell biology, functional genomics and transgenic technology. There are 8 professors and 7 associate professors, with 10 of them having doctoral degrees; floating personnel including visiting scholar, post doctor, and part-time teachers. A scientific research team with rational construction, critical scholarship, exploration and innovation has formed. The laboratory covers an area of 4250m2 including five research rooms, a standardized experimental animal breeding room and two bases of transformation of scientific research achievement. In the past five years, the laboratory has undertaken 50 research projects with state and provincial-level, including 4 major projects of national development of new GM crops, 1 project of modern industrial technical system of mutton production of the Ministry of Agriculture, 4 projects of “863” Programs, 7 projects of NSFC, 22 provincial-level projects and other 13 projects. The task of construction of Animal Transgenic Technology Research Center, which is a major science and technology project to create new crop varieties using gene transfer technology, was also untaken by the laboratory.
For the last fifteen years, over 200 papers and 5 treatises were published both at home and abroad. The laboratory has obtained 7 patents on invention, placed the second in the National Science and Technology Progress Award, won a Second Class National Natural Science Award, a Grand Prize and First Prize of Science and Technology of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Hong Kong Heliang and Heli Science and Technology Progress Award, Taiwan Kwang-Hua Science and Technology Fund Award, Inner Mongolia Outstanding Contribution Award in Science and Education, the US DuPont Technology Innovation Award and many other awards.
Over the years, the laboratory has promoted both the fundamental research and applied research simultaneously. The fundamental research stimulates the development of the applied research, whereas, the applied research guides the fundamental research. Research work combined closely with local economic development, which give full play to the advantages of local livestock. The laboratory focuses on combination of production, learning and research, produces good economic and social benefits and promotes the development of research work, which contributed a lot to the development of the national and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region scientific and technological progress and livestock breeding.
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