Yu Shuxun

Dr. Yu Shuxun was born in Macheng, Hubei Province, in 1953, a cotton genetic breeding scientist, directorgeneral of Cotton Research Institute, CAAS.
For about 30 years, Prof. Yu has been engaged in shortseason cotton breeding and cotton genetic improvement. Considerable progress has been made in shortseason cotton breeding and cotton genetic basic theoretical researches. Three cotton regional divisions’ shortseason cotton was proposed of China, and one breakthrough was made in terms of earlymaturity, disease resistance, prematuresenescence resistance and lowgossypol cotton breeding. Another breakthrough was made to improve and gradually solve the cotton bollworm damage by inventing Bt cotton varieties, which has been playing an important role in the development of domestic cotton. The other breakthrough has been made, as chief scientist, to preside over the cotton fiber development theory research and the SinoAmerican Cotton Genome Sequencing Program, which established the base for cotton molecular breeding and cultivation of high fiber quality cotton.
As Chief Scientist of Cotton Industrial Innovation System, Ministry of Agriculture, national research program such as “973”,“ 863”, cotton fiber functional genomics, He won 12 prizes, including 4 National Scientific and Technological Progress Awards (1 for First Prize and 3 for Second Prizes) and 5 another items of the province awards. He was also selected by Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) as scientists of “Shennon Plan” Prize, “National Key Talent Scientists” nominee, “National Outstanding Midyoung Experts.” His research group attained National “51” Labor Medal in 1998, and awarded the first Agriculture Talent Prize of MOA in 2006. As a breeder, 15 shortseason cotton varieties of lowgossypol cotton and transgenic insectresistant cotton were bred. As a researcher, 6 research works and 88 research papers were published, such as “Chinese shortseason cotton research,” “China shortseason cotton genetic breeding.”
Shortseason cotton regional modal was put up after several years of research, which laid development foundation of the production of Shortseason cotton varieties. Through scientific analysis to the domestic and international short season cotton cultivars, after 5 years of concentrated research, the short season cotton divisions laid a solid foundation for rational cropping and led to cropping system reforming in China. 15 new shortseason cotton varieties were bred to relieve the contradiction of the land to cultivate grain and cotton. Earlymaturing breeding technology innovation system resulted in new wheatcotton intercropping system. During the 1990’s, using transgenic technology and biochemical assisted breeding system combining with conventional breeding, Bt cotton varieties include CCRI37, 42, 45, 50, were invented, which played an important role for domestic Bt cotton development. As chief scientist, he presided over two items of national “973” projects and one Sino-America upland cotton genome sequencing program, which has made remarkable progresses in fiber quality functional genomics and molecular improvement.