A research project involving scientists from the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has won the First Prize of the 2024 Natural Resources Science and Technology Award, with Drs. HU Jiangchun and PAN Huaqi listed as the second and fourth contributing scientists on the award roster. The project, Applications of Marine Microorganisms and Their Bioactive Compounds in Innovative Drug Discovery and Biopesticide Development, was jointly completed by a national research consortium.

According to the team, the work addresses China’s strategic goals in advancing marine biomedicine and biotechnology. The researchers built a microbial strain repository using unique microorganisms collected from the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, providing key resources for identifying new therapeutic compounds and microbial agents. Led in part by IAE scientist HU Jiangchun, the team developed an integrated discovery platform combining activity screening, chemical analysis and gene-guided methods, enabling the identification of structurally novel bioactive molecules. They also established synthetic-biology systems to support microbial production and optimization of these compounds, clarifying the biosynthetic pathways of dozens of newly discovered secondary metabolites. These efforts reflect IAE’s innovative contributions to the enrichment of the strain resource bank, the establishment of the lead-compound discovery system,  and the identification of new bioactive molecules.

These scientific advances supported the screening of several marine-derived drug candidates for treating breast cancer, leukemia and malaria, as well as the development of microbial agents and fertilizers targeting major agricultural pests and diseases.

A notable accomplishment is the development of a biopesticide derived from Bacillus methylotrophicus strain 9912. The technology has been commercialized, becoming the world’s first registered B.methylotrophicus-based fungicide and the first microbial fungicide in China approved specifically for managing strawberry root rot.

The biopesticide series has since expanded to multiple registered products used across more than 34 crop species in China and exported to several countries. Some products have obtained organic-agriculture certification and have been recognized as leading brands in the biopesticide sector. According to the research team, the technology has generated an additional 108 million yuan in sales revenue between 2018 and 2023 and continues to support green, high-quality agricultural development.

Figure 1. Certificate of the First Prize of the 2024 Natural Resources Science and Technology Award