Endangered species of fish such as Chinese sturgeon are hopeful of being restored through application of clone technology. A project funded by the National Foundation for Natural Sciences -- research on cloning endangered fish species with cells preserved in low temperature is progressing smoothly, said professor Yu Laining, a fish cloning expert and dean of Medical and Life Sciences School of Jianghan University.

According to professor Yu Laining the technology takes advantage of modern biological technology and studies at the cell level the preservation and restoration of China's endangered and rare species such as white flag dolphin, white sturgeon, Chinese sturgeon, Yangtze River sturgeon, Chinese sucker and sturgeon etc. The program, which is aimed at protecting endangered species, is to be completed by 2006.

Professor Yu Laining said according to past experience the success rate of fish cloning is very low. Of a thousand experiments perhaps only one percent comply with requirements, which is a key factor hampering the development and application of the technology.

For now researchers are concentrating on researches to raise the success rate of cloning, that is, the optimization of nucleus transplant technology, selection of cells of good developmental totipotency, match between the supply nucleus and the egg, karyoplasm technology, activation methods of recombinant embryos, low temperature preservation of fish cell and cloning.

(People's Daily December 28, 2004)