Edible and medicinal mushrooms are known internationally as the health food of the 21st century, and are also important raw materials for biopharmaceuticals, functional foods, and washing and cosmetics. Internationally, edible and medicinal mushrooms have been used as materials for clothing, bags, and green buildings. China is the country with the richest endowment of edible and medicinal mushroom resources, and it is also the country that first recognized, harvested, consumed, and cultivated edible mushrooms. Since the reform and opening up, China's edible and medicinal mushroom industry has developed rapidly, astonishing the world. Since 2012, edible mushrooms(i.e. vegetable fungi) have become the fifth largest category of agricultural products after grains, oil, fruits, and vegetables. Li Yu, honorary president of China Edible Mushroom Association and academician of the CAE Member, believes that if medicinal Mushroom are included, they should be the fourth largest category of agricultural products.

 

The once inconspicuous "little mushroom" has quietly transformed into a large industry, highlighted by the "three 7s": firstly, the industry's growth rate has rapidly increased from 58000 tons in 1978 to 40 million tons currently, a 700 fold increase in 40 years, unprecedented in the world, and no other crop has experienced such rapid growth. Secondly, the annual output accounts for 75% of the global market share, making it a pure export product with regional advantages in China. In particular, after the COVID-19, the export continued to rise. Ganoderma lucidum, Poria cocos and other medicinal fungi have become new export favorites. Thirdly, in the eight year poverty alleviation campaign, more than 70% of poverty-stricken counties in China have chosen edible mushroom as their preferred industry, and a number of typical cases of precision poverty alleviation through edible fungi have emerged. The edible mushroom industry has made significant contributions to China's poverty alleviation efforts and the world's poverty reduction efforts (China's contribution rate to global poverty reduction exceeds 70%). In 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping praised "small mushroom, big industry" three times. This is not only a full affirmation of the mushroom industry, but also the highest praise for the development of the edible mushroom industry, indicating the direction of China's edible mushroom industry development.

Although China is truly a major country in terms of edible and medicinal mushroom resources, production, consumption, and export, it is not yet a strong edible and medicinal mushroom country. There is still a significant gap between China and developed countries in Europe and America in terms of scientific research and development, seed industry autonomy, talent cultivation, and intelligent control. Especially the current situation of strain source security is worrying, highlighted by the small, scattered, and weak seed industry, with a high degree of external dependence. Due to the weak foundation of basic scientific research in the seed industry, most of the major edible mushroom varieties in China, except for Auricularia auricula, Auricularia auricula, Tremella fuciformis, and Cordyceps militaris, are almost monopolized by foreign countries. There is a lack of varieties with independent intellectual property rights, and almost all of the seed sources needed for efficient, intensive, and large-scale production have to be imported. For example, as the birthplace of shiitake mushrooms, the mushroom varieties widely planted in China are mainly from Japanese varieties introduced in the 1980s and 1990s; The varieties of Agaricus bisporus are mainly controlled by the Netherlands and the United States, with the United States accounting for 87%; The market for white enoki mushroom strains is entirely controlled by the Japanese company Chikuma Kogyo. Even if we charge 1-3 cents per bottle for these imported strains, the annual variety usage rights fee that our company has to pay should not be underestimated. Even more dangerous is that once the supply of mushroom strains is cut off from abroad, nearly a thousand edible mushroom factories may close down, including more than 20 factories with a daily output of over 200 tons. Solve the problem of bacterial strain getting stuck and ensure food and medicine safety.

Winning the battle for the revival of the edible and medicinal mushroom seed industry and quickly changing the awkward situation of China's edible and medicinal mushroom being a "resource rich country, strain small country; production rich country, research and development weak country" is undoubtedly an important and arduous task to achieve the revitalization of the national seed industry and build a strong edible and medicinal mushroom country. Currently, we need to effectively grasp seven aspects:

Firstly, enhance the political stance of ensuring the safety of bacterial sources. Agricultural germplasm resources, including plants, animals, and fungi, are strategic resources that ensure national food security and effective supply of important agricultural and sideline products. They are the material basis for the original innovation of agricultural technology and the development of modern seed industry. At present, the essence of the seed industry competition is a technological competition, with a focus on resource competition. Whoever possesses more germplasm resources will have the advantage in breeding varieties and the initiative in seed industry competition. Without independent germplasm resources, there can be no independent seed varieties. We should deeply understand the spiritual connotation of "Chinese people should put their jobs in their own hands and hold their own food" repeatedly stressed by General Secretary Xi, firmly establish the concept of "big food" and "big food", change the concept of taking edible and medicinal fungi as "a dish", and understand the safety of fungus species from the strategic perspective of national food and food security. We also need to establish the concept of "three things agriculture" and a comprehensive view of seed industry. The biological world of Daqian is nothing but a cycle of "three things". "Plant growth, animal consumption, and microbial transformation" are the laws that agriculture must follow. In the new era of modern agriculture, especially in the context of "dual carbon", there is an urgent need to build a sound "three material agriculture" endogenous self circulation system. At present, among the "three material agriculture" in China, the mushroom seed industry is the weakest. The germplasm resource banks established by the country are all related to plants, animals (including aquatic organisms), but lack mushroom germplasm resource banks; There is currently no "mushroom" brand in the approved national seed industry park. This is extremely disproportionate to the status of China as a major producer of edible and medicinal fungi, and the position of edible and medicinal fungi as the fifth (or even fourth) largest crop. From the perspective of national agricultural supply security, we should view the scarcity of mushroom germplasm resources in China, recognize the strategic, fundamental, and urgent nature of revitalizing the edible and medicinal mushroom seed industry, and under the guidance of the new concept of "three material agriculture", accelerate the filling of the shortcomings of the mushroom seed industry, and build a new pattern of coordinated development and tripartite balance of the "three material" seed industry in China.

Secondly, conduct a thorough investigation of the germplasm resources of edible and medicinal fungi. The investigation of germplasm resources is the first step in the revitalization of the seed industry. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we must lay a solid foundation for germplasm resources, do a good job in resource survey, collection, identification and evaluation, and effectively protect and utilize them. China is organizing and conducting large-scale national resource surveys and research, including the first national survey and collection of forest and grass germplasm resources, the third national survey and collection of crop planting resources, and the fourth national survey of traditional Chinese medicine resources. Although these works are led by different departments, they all involve edible and medicinal mushroom germplasm resources, and require data integration and consolidation. Therefore, it is suggested that the country strengthen the overall coordination and coordination of the above-mentioned work, and enhance the overall and collaborative management of national germplasm resources. In addition to focusing on established scientific goals, it is also necessary to strengthen the systematic collection, preservation, and information sharing of fungal germplasm resources. The agricultural and rural departments should separately list the data projects of edible and medicinal fungal germplasm resources and input them uniformly; We should organize investigations and collections of fungal germplasm resources in key areas, combined with surface surveys, to understand the types, quantities, distribution, main characteristics, and other characteristics of fungal germplasm resources nationwide, clarify the evolution trend, effectively collect and protect rare, endangered, and unique resources, and achieve the goal of collecting all that should be collected and protecting all that should be protected. On this basis, a report on the status of fungal germplasm resources will be released, a security strategy for fungal germplasm sources will be studied, a special plan for the protection and utilization of fungal germplasm resources will be formulated and included in the national "14th Five Year Plan" for seed industry development.

 

Thirdly, strengthen the protection of wild fungal germplasm resources. Wild mushroom resources are a national strategic biological resource and a treasure trove for mushroom development and utilization. However, at present, the protection of wild mushroom resources is widely affected by simple bans on harvesting, which leads to resource waste, as well as phenomena such as illegal harvesting and "killing the chicken to get the egg" - style improper harvesting (such as harvesting before the fruiting body matures and emits spores). Some precious wild mushrooms are even studied and registered abroad after being illegally harvested, resulting in the development of edible and medicinal mushrooms in China often encountering "species barriers". Strengthening the protection of wild fungal germplasm resources is urgently needed! In recent years, Academician Li Yu's team has cooperated with local governments to establish fungus germplasm conservation areas in Xizang, Gansu, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Fujian, Anhui and other places, as well as in the Sino Russian border areas, to carry out the investigation, collection and research of wild fungus germplasm resources, and to build a fungus conservation system in the local area, relying on which to carry out research on the creation of new germplasm resources, so as to achieve the integration of effective protection and rational utilization. It is recommended to promote this practice, encourage agricultural and traditional Chinese medicine universities and research institutions to establish a wild mushroom conservation system in China's nature reserves, adopt digital technology and physical protection measures, strengthen the preservation, protection, breeding of rare and endangered mushroom resources, and their biological transformation and artificial substitute research, laying the foundation for the safety of mushroom sources; At the same time, we will strengthen the protective role of local government departments, include the protection of wild microbial resources in mountainous forest areas in the "forest chief system", and strictly assess and reward and punish them.

Fourthly, establish a national level germplasm resource bank for edible and medicinal fungi. The microbial germplasm resource bank is the source of microbial agriculture and the guarantee of sustainable industrial development. Combining advanced foreign experience with the abundant germplasm resources in China is an effective means for China to win the "turning around" of the seed industry in the future. In response to the current deficiencies in the construction of China's mushroom seed industry, the urgent task is to establish a national level edible and medicinal mushroom germplasm resource bank as soon as possible. This year, Hefei City in Anhui Province proposed to build the "Capital of China's Seed Industry" based on its advantages in grain, horticultural crop seed industry, and livestock and poultry seed industry. Comrade Liu Qi, a special researcher at the State Council Counselor's Office, has conducted research and suggested that Hefei City cooperate with Academician Li Yu's team to jointly build a germplasm resource bank for edible and medicinal fungi and a seed industry research and development center, adding another "species" to the construction of the "Chinese Seed Industry Capital". This suggestion was quickly adopted by the Hefei Municipal Party Committee and Government, and received recognition and support from the responsible comrades of the Anhui Provincial Party Committee and Government. At present, the construction of "Hefei Fungi Seed Industry Silicon Valley" has been launched. It is recommended that the state provide strong support, strengthen guidance, and promote the acceleration of the construction of a domestic and international first-class mushroom germplasm resource bank in Hefei, accelerate the formation of a "one museum and five banks" (mushroom specimen museum, mushroom resource bank, live tissue bank, effective component bank, gene bank, digital information bank) conservation system, become an innovative highland that leads the national and global mushroom preservation and protection, basic research, strain creation, and scientific research achievement transformation, and become a demonstration area for the full industry chain innovation of mushroom high-end talent gathering, high-end achievement incubation, and high-end enterprise aggregation.

 

Fifth, implement the revitalization action of edible and medicinal mushroom seed industry. The focus of the national seed industry revitalization action is on five aspects: resource protection, innovation and research, enterprise support, base construction, and market purification. These are precisely the weakest points of the microbial seed industry in the "three material agriculture" and need to be strengthened. It is recommended that the national and local governments gather elements that match the fifth largest industry in agriculture in terms of planning, funding, scientific research, and other resource allocation, to empower the revitalization of the edible and medicinal mushroom seed industry. In the action of revitalizing bacterial strains, it is necessary to concentrate the elite and clarify the priority direction of biotechnology breeding research and development. With the historical process of natural species evolution and human technological progress, global agricultural breeding has entered the era of biotechnology breeding, from primitive breeding, traditional breeding, and molecular breeding, that is, from transgenic breeding version 3.0 to intelligent design breeding version 4.0, and the new generation of molecular breeding technology integrating various cutting-edge technologies. Among them, the most representative ones include whole genome selection, gene editing, and synthetic biotechnology for cultivating revolutionary and disruptive new varieties, which not only greatly shorten the breeding cycle, but also improve the nutritional composition, taste, and shape and color of microbial products under safe conditions. We should strengthen discipline coordination and resource allocation, highlight the cross integration of breeding technology and digital intelligence technology, establish a breeding common platform and a large scientific device platform, establish a mechanism for unveiling and leading the way, and mobilize scientific and technological personnel from research institutions and edible and medicinal mushroom enterprises to participate in scientific and technological breeding. We should focus on creating a batch of core bacterial germplasm resources with rich genetic backgrounds and excellent key traits, constructing a systematic, procedural, large-scale, and information-based molecular technology breeding system, and breeding a batch of suitable for light simplification and mechanization with high yield.

Sixth, strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights in the mushroom seed industry. China only included edible and medicinal fungi in the list of agricultural plant variety protection in 2005, and included 15 new species of edible and medicinal fungi in three batches, accounting for only 1.06% of known species. Compared to developed economies, there is a significant gap in the protection of the variety rights of edible and medicinal fungi. The following measures are recommended: firstly, expand the protection list. Urgently conduct research and demonstration, add new fungi to the national plant protection list, and expand the protection scope. In addition to common edible mushroom genera and species, unique edible and medicinal mushroom varieties with high added value and international recognition in China should also be included in the protection list. Last year, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Science and Technology included 16 types of medicinal fungi and herbs in the list of prohibited exports, from bacterial strains to production and processing technologies, with great efforts. However, the proportion of medicinal fungi is still relatively low and urgently needs to be expanded. The second is to promote digital protection of bacterial strains. Strengthen the application of digital technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, and blockchain, establish a national level spatiotemporal data service platform for edible and medicinal mushroom strains, create a "digital strain" toolbox, accelerate the implementation of "one thing, one code" for strain production and circulation, and establish a sound anti-counterfeiting and quality traceability system. Thirdly, we will strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights for bacterial strains in accordance with the law. Strengthen the coordination and cooperation among people's courts at all levels and agricultural and rural departments, use the law as a sword to safeguard the mushroom seed industry, protect the legitimate rights and interests of breeders with "long teeth" measures, and comprehensively use various means such as law, economy, technology, and administration to promote full chain and full process supervision. We must strike hard against prominent problems such as counterfeiting and infringement, and make infringers pay a heavy price.

 

Seventh, accelerate the cultivation of leading enterprises in the edible and medicinal mushroom seed industry. Looking at the whole country, most of the main edible mushroom producing areas lack leading seed industry enterprises, and the general situation is that "strains come from other places, mushroom sticks are sold by small factories, and there are uneven varieties of melons and vegetables. Henan, the largest province in the edible mushroom industry, has nearly 200 edible mushroom strain enterprises of various sizes, but there is not a single seed enterprise with first or second level production qualifications; There is no leading seed industry enterprise in the country with breeding and modern production capabilities, which poses a hidden danger to the long-term sustainable development of the entire industry. For this reason, the revitalization of the fungal seed industry must cultivate large, excellent, and strong leaders. We need to establish high standard edible and medicinal mushroom strains factories in different regions, cultivate national and provincial leaders in the mushroom seed industry, support the development of advantageous enterprises, support and promote the connection between mushroom strains enterprises and scientific research units, financial institutions, and major mushroom production areas, and accelerate the construction of a commercial breeding system. At the same time, efforts should be made to establish quality standards for edible and medicinal mushroom strains, strictly implement graded management of first, second, and third level strains, strictly control first level strain sources, implement production license systems, comprehensively improve the production level of edible and medicinal mushroom strains, and build a strain production and supply system. Secondly, we must base ourselves on the advantages of microbial products in China and cultivate leading export-oriented seed industry enterprises. In recent years, Academician Li Yu and Professor Lin Zhanxi of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University have promoted the cultivation technology of edible fungi in the "the Belt and Road Initiative". Chinese strains and cultivation technology have blossomed and borne fruit in more than 100 countries, winning international reputation. In view of the growing demand for edible and medicinal fungi in the surrounding regions of China and Africa, it is suggested to give full play to the special influence of Academician Li Yu and Professor Lin Zhanxi, and set up the "the Belt and Road" edible and medicinal fungi strain production center and foreign demonstration

Building a Strong Country in Edible and Medicinal Fungi by Winning the Battle for the Revitalization of the Fungi Seed Industry

 

Edible and medicinal mushrooms are known internationally as the health food of the 21st century, and are also important raw materials for biopharmaceuticals, functional foods, and washing and cosmetics. Internationally, edible and medicinal mushrooms have been used as materials for clothing, bags, and green buildings. China is the country with the richest endowment of edible and medicinal mushroom resources, and it is also the country that first recognized, harvested, consumed, and cultivated edible mushrooms. Since the reform and opening up, China's edible and medicinal mushroom industry has developed rapidly, astonishing the world. Since 2012, edible fungi (i.e. vegetable fungi) have become the fifth largest category of agricultural products after grains, oil, fruits, and vegetables. Li Yu, honorary president of China Edible Fungi Association and academician of the CAE Member, believes that if medicinal fungi are included, they should be the fourth largest category of agricultural products.

 

The once inconspicuous "little mushroom" has quietly transformed into a large industry, highlighted by the "three 7s": firstly, the industry's growth rate has rapidly increased from 58000 tons in 1978 to 40 million tons currently, a 700 fold increase in 40 years, unprecedented in the world, and no other crop has experienced such rapid growth. Secondly, the annual output accounts for 75% of the global market share, making it a pure export product with regional advantages in China. In particular, after the COVID-19, the export continued to rise. Ganoderma lucidum, Poria cocos and other medicinal fungi have become new export favorites. Thirdly, in the eight year poverty alleviation campaign, more than 70% of poverty-stricken counties in China have chosen edible fungi as their preferred industry, and a number of typical cases of precision poverty alleviation through edible fungi have emerged. The edible mushroom industry has made significant contributions to China's poverty alleviation efforts and the world's poverty reduction efforts (China's contribution rate to global poverty reduction exceeds 70%). In 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping praised "small fungus, big industry" three times. This is not only a full affirmation of the fungus industry, but also the highest praise for the development of the edible mushroom industry, indicating the direction of China's edible mushroom industry development.

 

Although China is truly a major country in terms of edible and medicinal mushroom resources, production, consumption, and export, it is not yet a strong edible and medicinal mushroom country. There is still a significant gap between China and developed countries in Europe and America in terms of scientific research and development, seed industry autonomy, talent cultivation, and intelligent control. Especially the current situation of strain source security is worrying, highlighted by the small, scattered, and weak seed industry, with a high degree of external dependence. Due to the weak foundation of basic scientific research in the seed industry, most of the major edible mushroom varieties in China, except for Auricularia auricula, Auricularia auricula, Tremella fuciformis, and Cordyceps militaris, are almost monopolized by foreign countries. There is a lack of varieties with independent intellectual property rights, and almost all of the seed sources needed for efficient, intensive, and large-scale production have to be imported. For example, as the birthplace of shiitake mushrooms, the mushroom varieties widely planted in China are mainly from Japanese varieties introduced in the 1980s and 1990s; The varieties of Agaricus bisporus are mainly controlled by the Netherlands and the United States, with the United States accounting for 87%; The market for white enoki mushroom strains is entirely controlled by the Japanese company Chikuma Kogyo. Even if we charge 1-3 cents per bottle for these imported strains, the annual variety usage rights fee that our company has to pay should not be underestimated. Even more dangerous is that once the supply of mushroom strains is cut off from abroad, nearly a thousand edible mushroom factories may close down, including more than 20 factories with a daily output of over 200 tons. Solve the problem of bacterial strain getting stuck and ensure food and medicine safety.