The national treasure, the giant panda and the dog used to be ＂close relatives＂, and 60% were similar to people.

　　Why are giant pandas "dark circles"? Why don’t you hibernate as a "bear"? Why do you have a soft spot for bamboo? Are giant pandas and "bears" close relatives? What will the giant panda look like in the future? These questions will be answered one by one as the genome of the giant panda Jingjing is interpreted!

　　Yesterday, shenzhen huada gene research institute held a press conference on the eve of Hi-Tech Fair, officially announcing the completion of the genome frame map of the giant panda Jingjing. It turns out that the genome of giant panda is the closest to that of dog, and it is 60%~70% similar to that of human.

　　Why is the giant panda being interpreted?

　　"The most direct reason why we choose the giant panda is that it is cute! It is a national treasure cherished by China people and a world-class animal star, "said Dr. shenzhen huada gene research institute Wang Jun humorously," and there are still many mysteries in it. "

　　For example, the mystery of the name of the giant panda, the original name of the giant panda should be called "panda", and the current statement is originally the result of misunderstanding caused by the reading order in Chinese and English.

　　So "panda" and "bear" are close relatives? There is also the mystery of the taxonomic status of the giant panda. The species of the giant panda has been debated for more than a century: does it belong to Xiong Ke, or is it close to the family Huanxiong like the red panda, or is it a species of its own? There are also reasons why giant pandas can become living fossils, why they like to eat bamboo, why their reproductive ability is low and so on. Sequencing the genomes of giant pandas and other species will provide the final and definitive answers to these questions.

　　What’s interesting is that the lucky one who was selected for sequencing this time is the Beijing Olympic Games mascot "Jingjing".

　　　The genome of giant panda is similar to that of human.

　　The reporter learned that since it was launched in early March this year, the research cooperation team of the project of Huada Gene Research Institute has completed the sequencing of the genome frame map of the giant panda Jingjing, covering more than 98% and covering 99% of the gene region. It has 21 pairs of chromosomes, and its genome is similar to that of human beings, about 3 billion base pairs, including 20,000 ~ 30,000 genes.

　　Dr. Wang Jun from shenzhen huada gene research institute said: "If we bind the information in this test into a book, the height of this book is equivalent to the height of Diwang Building." It is understood that Diwang Building is the tallest building in Shenzhen, with a height of 386 meters and a total of 69 floors.

　　From the data released yesterday, we can know that among the species that have been sequenced, the genome of giant panda is the closest to that of dog, and it is also similar to that of human, about 60%~70%, which is quite different from that of mice in mammals. At the same time, the data analysis results further support the view that the giant panda is a subspecies of Xiong Ke held by most scientists, and prove the classification of various groups in Xiong Ke.

　　Provide an example for animal protection and research.

　　In a scientific sense, this research achievement fills the gap in the study of giant panda genome and molecular biology, and will provide a scientific basis for the protection, disease monitoring and artificial reproduction of this endangered species of giant panda from the level of genomics, and provide an example for the protection of other first-class protected animals in China.

　　The drawing of this genome sequence diagram adopts new sequencing technology, which greatly improves the sequencing speed and reduces the cost. This is the world’s first iconic large-scale genome sequence map completed by this new technology.

　　According to reports, the giant panda genome is only the starting project of shenzhen huada gene research institute’s "Tree of Life" project, and a detailed map of the giant panda genome will be completed within this year. The project will interpret and analyze the genome sequences of all major species with economic, social and scientific values in the three life sciences of animals, plants and microorganisms. (Reporter Wang Na, Bao Wenjuan, Liao Jiaming)

Editor: Fan Jing