The work will be done with the cooperation of Chinese and American experts, base sources said.

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, Zhang said.

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.

Clarifying the importance of establishing such a bank, the training course then focused on the technique to keep genetic materials of endangered animal species in cold storage, including sperm, eggs, cells, skin, hair and blood, as well as the technique of how to use the materials.

The training course was organized by the China Zoo Association, the China Wildlife Association, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, and the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity of the US-based National Cancer Institution.

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 the 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 co-operation.

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

(China Daily December 10, 2001)