China – South Africa Joint Symposium on “Fungal Bioresources and Application”

Sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF), China-South Africa Joint Symposium on “Fungal Bioresources and Application” has been successfully held on 17-19 March 2013 in Beijing, China. This symposium was hosted and organized by the State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, CAS.
Eleven South African delegates and 28 Chinese delegates attended this symposium. Welcome speeches were given by Prof. Xiu-Zhu Dong (Deputy Director-General of IMCAS), Dr. Pillay (Deputy CEO of NRF) and Prof. Ying-Lan Zhang (Director of Division, Bureau of International Cooperation, NSFC). Both NSFC and NRF valued the China-South Africa cooperation on the research and development in fungal bioresources and application, which has been regarded as a key point toward a sustainable growth in both countries.

Twenty-five presentations were given on this symposium by Senior Researchers from several reputable universities and institutions in both countries. Exchanges of ideas, advances and updated knowledge in mycology and fungal biotechnology related subjects have been made. Delegates from both countries have taken this opportunity very well to meet with colleagues in their areas and some have initiated mutual and beneficial collaborations. The delegates also visited the China General Microbiological Culture Collection Center (CGMCC) and the Mycological Herbarium (HMAS) in IMCAS.

Based on the discussions made on this symposium, scientists attending the Beijing symposium have suggested that NRF and NSFC should further enhance future collaborations on fungal bioresources and application between the scientists from the two countries.