Duplicate clones to get more

When no turtles can be found as consorts to preserve the Sword Lake Turtle, cloning may be an option, scientists suggest.

>>> Difficult to find descendants for Sword Lake Turtle

Dr. Le Dinh Luong, Center for DNA analysis and genetic engineering in Vietnam, said that cloning is the current best option.

"In the case of Sword Lake turtle has not found any species of the same species, the theory of cloning method is perfect".

Cloning is a single method of reproduction not through fertilization. This method was first published in the world with the birth of Dolly sheep in 1997. By this method, individuals can be created from a cell derived from the original. If cloning children, the next generation will give the children, and vice versa.

Cloning requires big costs and must be done in a secure environment, Mr. Luong stressed. So if this option is implemented, "international cooperation is required to have a chance to succeed , " he said.

Turtle Lake floating on 11/12. (Photo: Vu Long)

Keeping the genes of the Sword Lake Turtle is essential because later genes can be used with good predominance such as genes that make a long life. Mr. Luong said that whether cloning turtles or not, good genes could also be used for later cultivation purposes.

In the above view, Dr. Le Xuan Canh, Director of the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, said: "It is necessary to keep the gene of Tortoise, when conditions permit, cloning".

According to Mr. Canh, the Sword Lake Turtle has been "over a hundred years old" , so it is difficult to implement normal sexual reproduction methods in animals.

However, the idea of ​​cloning is met with opposition from some other scientists. Professor Ha Dinh Duc, who has 20 years of experience in researching Sword Lake Turtle, thinks that it should not be duplicated because it will bring bad consequences later.

"Cloning is something that should not be done, and doing is useless , " said Duc.

"To clone, you have to poke into the cell nucleus. Multiply the cell as the hereditary wall, poke at it causing the animal to lose immunity, very susceptible to unpredictable diseases."

Mr. Duc added that there has never been any research on turtle cloning in the world, so "should not bring Turtle tools to do experiments". "Dolly the sheep is dead. We cloned the Sword of the Sword Sword will probably create the same fish as the real one, but it will be difficult to have a long life."

Some other scientists believe that cloning creates a different version than the Tortoise, which will affect the spirituality of Vietnamese people. In addition, cloning can be misleading, causing mutations, growth potential will be very slow.

Dr. Le Dinh Luong, though judging that cloning is also an option, warns that with a 100-year-old original such as Tortoise, the generation F1 created could be infertile.

The issue of conservation of the race of the Sword Lake Turtle has been raised recently, after the Turtle emerged continuously with the average frequency every three days. This turtle is thought to be rare, leaving only one or several individuals and needs to be preserved before extinction. Turtle is also one of the symbols of Hanoi capital.