he 5th Collaborative Meeting of China-Thailand Joint Laboratory on Microbial Biotechnology and the Workshop on Yeast Hybridization Technology were held in Thailand from October 3 to 6, 2019.

Dr. Lily Eurwilaichitr, Acting Vice President of NSTDA and Principal Researcher of BIOTEC briefed the history of the joint lab, the pilot project under the joint lab, current status and possible proposal for ANSO collaborative projects.

Both sides discussed development of the computational framework for genomic microbial taxonomy (cGeM) & complete genome sequencing of the Thai microbial type strains,metagenomic exploration of microbiomes in activated sludge of waste water treatment systems for biotechnological application, development of thermotolerant yeast strains for ethanol production, the potential of marine microalgal strains for omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid production, cave microbiome and studies on fungi diversity. Prof. YU Bo introduced his study on a new biological route for food-grade propionate production with high purity as well. Chinese and Thai scientists also talked about 2020 plan and activities of the joint lab.

Prof. BAI Fengyan and his Ph. D. candidate attended the Workshop on the Technology of Yeast Hybridization. They introduced industrial applications of inter- and intra-specific hybrids of yeasts, molecular mechanisms of hybrid vigor (heterosis) of yeasts, and the principles, advantages and disadvantages of different methods for yeast hybrid generation. They also taught Thai researchers protocols and techniques for the induction of sporulation of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, tetrad dissection, micromanipulator operation, and spore-to-spore mating.

Dr. Wonnop Vissesanguan, Deputy Executive Director from BIOTEC and Mr. Sayan Tanpanich, Deputy Governor Research & Development Group for Bio-industries from TISTR, over 20 Thai researchers and 11 Chinese scientists and researchers from Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences attended the meeting and the workshop.