On December 3, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) announced its project review results. Associate Professor Zhou Xuemei from the School of Life Sciences at SCMU has been awarded a cultivation-type project grant under the NSFC Special Project “Analysis and Utilization of Gene Modules for Major Specific Traits in Forage Crops” (hereinafter referred to as the “Forage Crops Special Project”). The project will receive direct funding of 670,000 yuan. This marks SCMU’s first successful application for a cultivation-type project under the NSFC “Forage Crops Special Project”.

NSFC established the “Forage Crops Special Project” to advance modern panoramic omics technologies and methodologies in forage crop research, analyze molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of major specific traits in forage crops, develop new breeding resources and variety designs, and innovate basic biological research paradigms for forage crops. The special project has a total direct funding budget of approximately 30 million yuan over a three-year period. Key-type projects receive funding between 1.3-1.5 million yuan per project, while cultivation-type projects receive 500,000-700,000 yuan per project.

Professor Zhou’s newly approved project focuses on forage crop seed development, with emphasis on analyzing the regulatory mechanisms of seed development in forage crops. This research holds significant importance for fundamental biological studies of forage crops.