A Beijing-based gene firm on Monday announced the world’s first cloned wild arctic wolf, which is listed as endangered in the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or the IUCN. Experts said its birth pioneers the breeding of more rare and endangered animals through cloning technology.
“We started the research cooperation with Harbin Polarland on cloning the arctic wolf in 2020. After two years of painstaking efforts, the arctic wolf was cloned successfully. It is the first case of its kind in the world,” Mi Jidong, the company’s general manager of the Beijing-based Sinogene Biotechnology Co said at a press conference in Beijing.
The birth of the world’s first cloned wild arctic wolf is a milestone for the application of cloning technology, which is of great significance to the conservation of rare and endangered animals and biodiversity, experts believe.
He Zhengming, the head of Chinese Experimental Animal Resources Research Institute for Food and Drug Control said that the cloned animals still have the ability to reproduce if they have intact fertilized eggs (受精卵). The cloning technology can copy all genetic information for selective reproduction.
From the world’s first mammal clone “Dolly”, cloning technology has provided the possibility to diversify the populations of some species such as cattle, pigs and horses. When endangered species in some places are identified, cloning of cells preserved from freezing technologies could also generate new life, experts said.
As part of a more concrete step to boost the breeding of more rare and endangered animals through cloning technology, the Sinogene Biotechnology Co and Beijing Wildlife Park built a partnership on gene seed preservation cloning technology applications in rare and endangered wild animals. Enhanced efforts for the protection of endangered wildlife species and their habitats are part of the goals of the country’s national development plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
【小题1】Where is the text most probably taken from?| A．A guidebook. | B．A report. | C．A review. | D．A novel. |
| A．It reduces biodiversity. |
| B．It helps to restore the wolf population. |
| C．It helps the conservation of rare species. |
| D．It increases the risk of animal extinction. |
| A．Preserve fertilized eggs. |
| B．Copy their genetic information. |
| C．Help promote population diversity. |
| D．Prevent their populations from diversifying. |
| A．Cloning technology creating a new species of arctic wolf. |
| B．Cloning technology cooperation promoting rare animal breeding. |
| C．Cloning technology helping build a gene seed preservation facility. |
| D．Protecting wild animals in National Forestry and Grassland Administration. |
