Home∕Research Groups∕Genome And Ecological Biology∕Yue Gen Hua

Impact

Tropical aquaculture contributes significantly to higher production and resource efficiency of good proteins in land scarce Singapore. Smarter breeding, genetics and genomics techniques can innovate and develop sustainable solutions to enhance food security. In a similar vein, improving commercial production of agriculturally important species in the region, such as sugarcane and oil palm, can grow capacities and capabilities by mitigating climate change and disease outbreaks.

Collaborations, Achievements & Honours

Collaborated with globally renowned fish and plant breeding companies and provided genotyping services for species such as salmon, tilapia, white shrimp, river giant prawn, sharks, Asian arowana, Jatroph curcas, oil palm, and sugarcane since 2003 Selectively bred St John’s Sea Bass® that led to spin-off Allegro Aqua, a company that specialises in commercialising an elite strain of the Asian Seabass with better growth and survival rates (2018)
Served as an expert panel member in the evaluation of national research plans and proposals for the USA, China, EU, France, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Kuwait, New Zealand, Australia, Republic of Kazakhstan, and Singapore
Participated as a member of the International Expert Evaluation Panel to assess the “First-Class Fisheries Degree Program” at Ocean University of China
Served as a member of the scientific advisory board, evaluating Chinese national and regional key laboratories in marine and aquaculture sciences
Served on the editorial board or as associate editors for over 10 scientific journals, such as Aquaculture, Molecular Genetics and Genomics, Aquaculture and Fisheries, BMC Genomics, Reproduction & Breeding, and Marine Life Sciences and Technologies
Mentored postdoctoral researchers and PhD students, several of whom have advanced to become leading scientists in the fields of aquaculture and plant breeding.Chairman of the organizing committee for the Singapore Genome Conference (2014)
Commercial research on genetic improvements of sugarcane by GMP Indonesia (Since 2020)
Commercial research on molecular breeding of oil palm by Wilmar International (Since 2009)
Granted research on molecular breeding of Asia Seabass for growth, resilience and meat quality by various agencies since 2003, including Singapore Food Agency and National Research Foundation

Research Areas

Aquaculture Breeding, Plant Breeding, Genetics, Genomics and Aquatic Toxicology

Affiliations

Senior Principal Investigator, TLL
Director, Strategic Research Programme, TLL
Adjunct Associate Professor, NUS

Question

How do we develop and apply genomic resources to accelerate the genetic improvement of animal and plant species for food security? How do genotypes interact with environmental factors to sustain food production?

Approach

Gen Hua’s lab deploys molecular and quantitative genetic approaches to sustainably produce economically important fish and plant species. Focused on the development of genomic resources and platform technologies, they seek to genotype DNA markers and set up cost-effective, high throughput pedigree systems.

Gen Hua uses novel platform technologies like phenotyping, genome sequencing, parentage, genomic selection with AI and genotyping to achieve desirable outcomes. Past projects include molecular breeding of Jatropha plants for biodiesel and food fish for fast growth and disease resistance; microsatellite genotyping for better salmon and tilapia; as well as genetically improved oil palm and sugarcane varieties for higher yield.

Gen Hua’s lab tries to identify the genetic basis underlying commercially important traits in aquaculture and agriculture through QTL and whole genome association mapping, as well as functional analysis of genes. The expected findings will enable better understanding of growth, quality, disease resistance, nutritional content, biomass and yield.

Through smart breeding programs, genetically diverse founder populations are analyzed to identify desirable traits, expediting genetic improvements. By using molecular parentage analysis and genomic selection, elite individuals can be identified at earlier developmental stages without the need for phenotypic evaluation, thus accelerating genetic improvement of important traits.

Gen Hua’s team continues to explore how genotypes and environmental factors determine phenotypes in model organisms like zebrafish, fighting fish, and Arabidopsis. The lab is also looking towards collaborating with animal and plant breeding companies to promote novel breeding technologies in the region and beyond.

In addition, Gen Hua’s lab employs molecular techniques to study the effects of emerging pollutants on aquatic organisms. They use omics technologies, such as transcriptomics, qRT-PCR, to uncover molecular pathways affected by contaminants. Combining gene expression profiling, biomarker identification, and genomic tools, the lab elucidates pollutant-induced toxicological impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

Bio

Gen Hua Yue obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Nanjing Agricultural University in 1986 and 1989, respectively. From 1989 to 1994, he served as a teaching assistant and lecturer at the same institution. In 1994, he was awarded scholarships from the Chinese Ministry of Education and DAAD, Germany, to pursue doctoral studies in Germany. He conducted his PhD research on porcine genome mapping under Professor Hermann Geldermann at the University of Hohenheim, Germany, from 1994 to 1999. In 1998, he joined the Institute of Molecular Agrobiology in Singapore, focusing on Asian seabass and arowana research. Since 2003, he has led a strategic research program (Aquaculture and agronomic plant breeding) at the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL), where he has serves as a Senior Principal Investigator and Director of Strategic Research Programs since 2013.

Senior Principal Investigator

Yue Gen Hua

Gen Hua Yue’s lab focuses on developing and optimizing novel platform technologies to enable smart breeding of aquaculture and agriculture species, addressing challenges related to food security and sustainability.