On the morning of January 19, Professor Mondher Bouzayen, a member of the European Academy of Sciences, Distinguished Professor at the University of Toulouse in France, and an internationally renowned plant biologist, visited the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and delivered an academic report entitled “Fleshy Fruit Development and Ripening: Time for Paradigm Shifts”. The event was attended by leaders and experts including Huang Sanwen, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of CAAS, and Zhang Youjun, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Director of the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers. Nearly 200 representatives of CAAS researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students attended the report both online and offline. The report was chaired by Wang Xiaowu, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding.

During the event, Director Wang Xiaowu extended a warm welcome to Professor Bouzayen for his visit and exchange. Professor Bouzayen is an international authority in the field of molecular regulation of fruit development. In his report, he revealed a new paradigm for fruit ripening research. He pointed out that the early developmental gene SlMBP3 determines fruit firmness, while low-oxygen signals initiate the ripening process by stabilizing the ERF.E1 protein, with gene functions exhibiting variety-specific characteristics. This discovery suggests that gene editing targeting early developmental stages can independently improve fruit storability and ripening timing without affecting flavor, paving a new path for molecular design breeding.

The report sparked in-depth reflection among the participants. During the interactive session, attendees actively raised questions on topics such as how basic research can drive molecular design breeding and the conservation and application potential of epigenetic regulation. Professor Bouzayen provided detailed answers to each question.

In the afternoon, accompanied by Researcher Cheng Feng, Assistant Director of the Institute, Professor Mondher Bouzayen visited the Nanpuchang Exhibition Greenhouse of the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers to observe new vegetable and flower varieties, technologies, and products on-site. He expressed his hope that this visit would promote cutting-edge academic exchanges between the two parties and lay a solid foundation for potential international research collaborations in the future.