BEIJING, August 2, 2010 --The Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, signed a research agreement today for a collaborative research program of biotechnology and molecular crop breeding in Beijing. Senior leaders from both parties, including Duan Ziyuan, Division Head, Bureau of Bioscience and Biotechnology of CAS, Xue Yongbiao, Director, IGDB of CAS, and William S. Niebur, DuPont Vice President and Country Manager of Pioneer China, attended the signing ceremony.

“IGDB and Pioneer both are strong leaders in agricultural biotechnology”, said Duan Ziyuan. “Both parties will initiate collaborative researches to provide solutions to the major global challenges in securing resources, food, ecological environments and the like. This partnership is an excellent example of local well-known research institutes collaborating with leading international seed companies.

“Based on mutual benefits, the two parties will achieve a win-win outcome, promote the development of cutting-edge agricultural biotechnology and make contributions to agricultural development in China and worldwide” said Duan.

“China is currently feeding 20 percent of the global population with only 9 percent of the world’s arable land,” said William Niebur. “The country has experienced productivity gains in rice and corn production through hybridization. However, new technologies are needed to see the step-change increase in corn and soy productivity required to ensure China’s food security for the future.”

“Pioneer is leading the seed industry revolution and IGDB-CAS is a world-class research organization inplant biotechnology,” said Niebur.  “The collaboration between Pioneer and IGDB-CAS will leverage strengths of both sides to provide better crop varieties to increase productivity,improve farmers’ income and quality of life; meet the growing demand for food, feed, fuel and fiber, so to develop a sustainable agricultural industry in China and worldwide.”.

“IGDB has been enjoying a rapid development over the past decade and achieved a number of outstanding basic research results in plant molecular biology”, said Xue Yongbiao. “In collaboration with Pioneer，IGDB would accelerate the translation of R&D achievements into products and make new contributions to food security.”

The Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) （http://www.genetics.cas.cn）of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was founded in 2001 by a merger of three former institutes of CAS, the Institute of Genetics (founded in 1959), the Institute of Developmental Biology (founded in 1980) and the Shijiazhuang Institute of Agricultural Modernization (founded in 1978).  IGDB has a group of famous scientists and good research facilities.  The mission of the institute is to address fundamental questions in genetics and developmental biology and to develop new technologies for the uses in health care and agriculture sciences as well as to meet the nation's strategic needs in science and technology.

Scientists in the institute use both plant and animal models to address fundamental questions in life sciences, such as genetic control of growth and development, gene expression, signal transduction, structural and functional genomics, biotech and molecular breeding, bioinformatics and systems biology. As China owns the biggest agricultural market in the world, IGDB researchers have also made significant efforts on water saving agriculture and agronomic studies, focusing on the improvement of crop productivity and quality as well as bio-safety.  The crop varieties they developed have been widely used in agriculture and promoted the agricultural production.

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Pioneer Hi-Bred (www.pioneer.com), a DuPont business headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, is the world’s leading developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics, providing high-quality seeds to farmers in more than 90 countries. Pioneer provides agronomic support and services to help increase farmer productivity and profitability and strives to develop sustainable agricultural systems for people everywhere. Science with Service Delivering Success^(TM).

DuPont (www.dupont.com) is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 90 countries and regions, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.