The rearing of special-type economic animals (including silkworm, honeybees, etc.) is national key disciplines and 211 key construction disciplines. It is originated from sericulture department founded in 1927 in Zhejiang University and re-organized with corporation fisheries and aquatic biology into sericulture and apiculture in 1999. We have 29 faculty and staffs including 25 full-time faculty among whose 88% earned doctor of Philosophy degree and 15 faculty have senior title (including 12 PhD Supervisor) and 8 vice-senior title.
Research scopes: With introduction of modern biotechnology into economic animal field of silkworm, honeybees and aquatic biology, five research scopes are established as follows:1）germplasm resource and molecular breeding; 2）biological functions and disease control; 3）bioreactor and genetic engineering; 4) biological resources and material engineering; 5) aquatic living resources and aquaculture.
Discipline feature: Sericulture, apiculture and aquaculture play important role on domestic agriculture development in the view of international scientific frontiers and national economic construction. We not only aim at resolution of significant basic theory and key technology encountered in the fields of sericulture, apiculture and aquaculture but also carry out further research on the fields related to sericulture, apiculture and aquaculture. It forms discipline frontiers and interdiscipline and therefore shows its unique feature and predominance.
Research facilities: There are instruments and laboratory equipments for research and teaching which are worth more than 20 million RMB. We have labs including germplasm resource of silkworm and honeybee, bioreactor, disease control, biological resource materials, sea and biotechnology etc and testbases and facilities including silkworm and mulberry farm, bee farm and aquafarm.
Research teams: There are three main research teams. The first is institute of silkworm and honeybee research which focus on basic and application research on germplasm resource and molecular breeding, biological functions and disease control and bioengineering and production. The second is institute of applied bioresource research which aim at industrialization and research on development and protection of animal resource, bioreactor and biological resource and materials. The third is aquatic living resources and aquaculture lab which emphasize research on special-type economic aquatic resources and culture, immunity and disease control, and nutrition and food optimization.
Research outcome: In the past five years, we have been in charge of 58 national and provincial grants, 19 city & department level grants, and 80 local cooperation grant. We have earned 3 provincial and ministerial technology advancement awards and authorized 31 national patents. We have published 11 monographs and testbooks and 363 papers including 93 in SCI journals