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Gene bank to help save giant pandas -- report
( 2001-12-10 09:35 ) (7 )

China will build its first genomic resource bank of endangered animal species to help save the giant pandas and other rare animals.

The gene bank, to be built in the Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, will focus on keeping genetic materials of endangered animal species in cold storage, including sperm, eggs, cells, skin, hair and blood.

The work will be done with the cooperation of Chinese and American experts, Monday's China Daily reported.

According to base deputy head Zhang Zhihe, Chengdu was home to the world's first use of frozen genes to successfully reproduce giant pandas in 1980.

Since then, its aim has been to construct a genomic resource bank of endangered animal species, focusing on giant pandas.

To prepare for the bank's construction, eight Chinese and American experts gathered in the base to train approximately 30 employees in zoos and nature reserves nationwide.

The Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base in Chengdu, which boasts the world's largest giant panda sperm bank, has already stored the genetic materials of some endangered animal species, such as South China Tiger, pandas and snub-nosed monkeys.

According to Luo Lan, a researcher at the base, the United States is advanced in terms of the cold storage of animal sperms, while China has the advantage in its possession of the giant panda sperms, which forms the basis for mutual cooperation.

There are less than 1,000 giant pandas in the world. Eighty- five percent of them live in Sichuan.