At the invitation of the Innovation Team of Agricultural Microbial Resources of the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, on May 22, Professor Ákos T. Kovács from the Institute of Biology at Leiden University in the Netherlands and Professor Marc Ongena from the Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech School at the University of Liège in Belgium visited China for academic communication. They delivered academic presentations titled "Molecular mechanisms of plant immunity stimulation by Bacillus" and "Chemical ecology of Bacilli: secondary metabolite diversity, function, and evolution" respectively. The seminar was chaired by Professor Liu Yunpeng, with over 50 participants attending both online and on site.

Professor Ákos T. Kovács focused on the diversity and function of secondary metabolites of the model rhizosphere beneficial bacterium Bacillus subtilis. He presented recent research findings on the evolutionary process of gene clusters involved in secondary metabolite synthesis, highlighting the crucial role of bacteriophages in the metabolism and physiology of rhizosphere bacteria. Discussions and exchanges with attendees revolved around the evolutionary principles of lipopeptide secondary metabolite synthesis gene clusters. Professor Marc Ongena discussed the interaction between Bacillus velezensis and plant immunity, shedding light on the signals exchanged between them. He discussed the development of enhancers in the application of microbial fertilizers.

Following the meeting, the professors visited the National Microbial Resource Center, where Professor Liu Yunpeng provided an overview of the center. Subsequently, they engaged in extensive discussions with graduate students from the research group. Research progress in the rhizosphere colonization of microbial fertilizer strains was presented by graduate students Shu Xia, Wang Kesu (visiting), and Duan Yan (visiting), leading to thorough discussions on relevant basic research and agricultural application issues.