Chinese scientists have succeeded in cloning a giant panda's reproductive hormone gene, with the aim of improving the animal's ability to breed in artificial conditions.

The achievement was announced at a recent meeting on panda breeding technology, held in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The research was conducted jointly by scientists from the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center and a key cell and gene-engineering laboratory at Zhejiang University in eastern Zhejiang Province.

Most female pandas living in an artificial environment have dysfunctional reproductive organs and fail to produce eggs normally, leading to an inability to breed, giant panda expert Zhang Anju said.

About 30 percent of female pandas in artificial environments are able to become pregnant and produce offspring, while only 10 percent of male pandas enjoy a natural mating life.

The cloning of the hormone gene can be used to modulate egg production thus improving breeding ability, Zhang said. Giant pandas usually encounter difficulties in mating and pregnancy, and suffer a high infant mortality in captivity.

(China Daily December 9, 2002)