Prof. XU Peng from Xiamen University visited IHB on Nov. 21, 2025. (Credit: IHB)

Prof. XU Peng from Xiamen University was invited to deliver an academic lecture titled "AI Empowering Selective Breeding of High-Quality Fish: Breeding Practices for Feed Efficiency Traits in Large Yellow Croaker" at the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on the morning of November 21, 2025. 

Professor Xu outlined the current state of China's large yellow croaker aquaculture industry, highlighting that high feed costs and unstable feed utilization efficiency have become significant bottlenecks hindering the industry's high-quality development. He emphasized the urgent need to leverage modern breeding techniques such as genome-wide selection for improving complex traits. 

Focusing on the core trait of "feed utilization efficiency in large yellow croaker," Prof. Xu detailed his team's pioneering exploration of integrating AI technologies into real-world aquaculture environments. This includes the design of an individual feed intake measurement platform for high-density farming, automated phenotyping devices for large yellow croaker, and behavioral experiment setups. These innovations enable the high-throughput acquisition of phenotypes related to feed efficiency. Based on this, the team has established a selective breeding line for high feed efficiency and conducted progeny testing, providing a practical model for subsequent implementation of genome-wide selection and improvement of feed utilization efficiency. 

Looking ahead, the presentation proposed accelerating the automation and non-invasiveness of phenotypic measurement, promoting the accumulation and sharing of phenotypic and genomic data, developing intelligent evaluation and genetic assessment methods suitable for complex traits in fish, and constructing smart breeding platforms for industrial application. 

Prof. Xu is a Minjiang Chair Professor and a Nanqiang Distinguished Professor at Xiamen University. He is also a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars. He received his Ph.D. training on fish genomics and genetics with Dr. Zhanjiang Liu at Department of Fishery and Allied Aquaculture, Auburn University. He had his postdoctoral training with Dr. Krista Nichols at Department of Biology, Purdue University. He was Senior Scientist and served as Director of the Centre for Applied Aquatic Genomics (CAAG), Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences in Ministry of Agriculture of China before he joined Xiamen University. His group focuses on fish genetics and genetic breeding primarily on large yellow croaker, the No. 1 marine cultured fish in China, at Xiamen University. Dr. Xu has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers on Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, Science Advances, Molecular Biology and Evolution, etc. He currently serves on editorial boards of a number of academic journals.