The China-New Zealand joint laboratory for research and development was founded on Nov 25 in Kunming, capital city of Yunnan province with the aim of unlocking the economic value of Yunnan’s diverse endemic plant species.

A researcher at the Yunnan Academy of Forestry observes the growth of a tissue culture seedling in a phytotron at the China-New Zealand joint lab in Kunming, Yunnan province, Nov 25. [Photo/Xinhua]

Co-founded by the Yunnan Academy of Forestry and New Zealand Plant and Food Research Institute, the lab is expected to become a new force to boost the forestry and plateau agriculture of Yunnan. After it comes into operation, cooperative research on forest conservation, germplasm innovation, genetic breeding and secondary plant metabolism and its regulation will be conducted.

A researcher at the Yunnan Academy of Forestry performs a gene amplification experiment at the China-New Zealand joint lab in Kunming, Yunnan province, Nov 25. [Photo/Xinhua]

By Shi Zihan and edited by Brian Salter