In southwest China, in the dense forest on the top of Yuanbaoshan Mountain in the northern suburb of Kunming, Yunnan, and in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, there is a low-key and mysterious national major scientific and technological infrastructure - Southwest China Wildlife Germplasm Resources Bank. It is known as both the "home of seeds" and the "seed bank", which not only protects many rare and endangered wild plants, important economic crops, and newly discovered species, but also develops and strengthens wild biological germplasm resources through preservation and research. On the 20th, the reporter accompanied the Yunnan themed interview team of the "High Quality Development Research Tour" to enter the largest wildlife germplasm resource bank in Asia and explore the story behind "a seed" together. Amidst green trees and red flowers, a building with alternating red and white stands quietly, where tens of thousands of wild plant seeds sleep and reside. At the entrance of the Seed Museum, an acrylic column seed display wall appeared in front of the reporter. Under the illumination of the light, more than 2000 seed specimens emitted a faint light in the transparent acrylic column "dandelion", becoming a miniature of the germplasm resource bank. After more than ten years of development, the germplasm bank has effectively preserved various wild plant seeds, plant in vitro materials, plant DNA, large fungi, microbial germplasm resources, and animal germplasm resources for a long time, and its preservation capacity has reached the international leading level Director Yi Tingshuang of the Southwest China Wildlife Germplasm Resources Bank told reporters. Germplasm resources are strategic resources of a country. China is one of the countries with particularly rich biodiversity. According to preliminary assessments, there are at least 4000 endangered and threatened species of higher plants in the country, accounting for 10% of the total. The protection situation is very severe. The Southwest China Wildlife Germplasm Resources Bank started construction in Kunming in 2004 and was completed and put into operation in 2007. Yi Tingshuang stated that the reason for building the germplasm resource bank in Yunnan is because Yunnan has a very rich biodiversity - higher plants account for about 50.3% of the country's total, vertebrates account for about 49.5% of the country's total... It can be said that Yunnan is truly a "kingdom of animals," "kingdom of plants," "world garden," and "species gene bank. At present, the Southwest China Wildlife Germplasm Resources Bank has collected and preserved over 20000 species and 300000 samples of various wildlife germplasm resources, including over 10000 species and approximately 100000 samples of wild plant seeds, ranking first in Asia in terms of preservation volume. It, along with the Millennium Seed Bank in the UK and the Global Seed Bank in Svalbard, Norway, has become a leader in global biodiversity conservation. If you want to "move into" the germplasm resource bank, not all seeds are fine. Here, there are strict screening criteria and numerous "checkpoints". The germplasm resource bank prioritizes the collection of rare and endangered species, endemic species, and plant seeds with significant economic value Yitingshuang said that seeds must have access status, that is, meet the "3E" criteria - endangered, endemic, and economically important. Among them, "unique" not only refers to the unique characteristics of China, but also to the unique characteristics of narrow regions. According to this standard, wild plants under national first and second level key protection, such as Himalayan yew and Qiaojia five needle pine, as well as China's unique Yunnan money maple and Yunnan tung tree, are prioritized for preservation. Not only are rare and endangered species being protected, but the germplasm resource bank is also constantly developing new technologies to bring new vitality to more wild germplasm resources. Taking the delicious and delicious morel mushroom as an example, the production of wild morel mushrooms is very low. However, by domesticating wild morel mushrooms, we have developed a variety of morel mushrooms that can be artificially cultivated, making morel mushrooms a household dish for more people Yiting Shuang said. Yi Tingshuang stated that in the next step, the Southwest China Wildlife Germplasm Resources Bank will further strengthen research on germplasm preservation technology, allowing more seeds to be "deposited" into the germplasm resources bank. For example, some seeds may lose their activity and wither at temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. We need to try whether they can be preserved at liquid nitrogen temperatures as low as minus 198 degrees Celsius, or whether they can be cultured through leaves or roots. Protecting germplasm resources is a common task for all mankind. Yi Tingshuang said that Chinese researchers will strengthen cooperation with foreign researchers and institutions, introduce and preserve more germplasm resources, and continue to contribute to the protection of global biodiversity. (New Society)