Giant Panda's Immune System More Resilient to Climate Change Than Previously Known

The genetic diversity in the immune systems of pandas makes them more resilient to climatic changes, according to a new study conducted by Chinese researchers.

The study conducted by researchers at Zhejiang University claims that the giant pandas that live in the remote mountain ranges of central china, have a diverse immune system, which makes them more flexible to climate changes  compared to other endangered species. The genetic variation of the major histocompatibility complex genes (MHC) in the immune system of giant pandas helps them to cope well with the changing environment.

Since 1990, the giant panda has been listed as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. There are 1500 pandas existing in the wild and are limited to six isolated mountain ranges in Southern Central China. Analysis of the panda fossils reveals that they lived in parts of Burma and northern Vietnam. Their population dwindled due to changing climate and habitat fragmentation, reports LiveScience.

The researchers are concerned with how the genetic variation can be maintained within the endangered population of the giant panda in China. To proceed with their finding, they gathered genetic data from 218 wild pandas from all six isolated regions from  blood, skin or fecal material samples.  They focused on MHC- set of cell surface molecules encoded by a vast gene family. Different vertebrates have different MHCs. Since the other genomes remain the same in all species they don't stand as good indicators.

"The assumption is that a decrease in genetic variation and a lack of exchange between isolated populations increase the likelihood of extinction by reducing the population's ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions," the researchers explain.

On genetic analysis the researchers discovered that the giant panda has a high level of genetic diversity in the MHC genes and it can adapt to a changes in climatic conditions compared to other endangered species.

The researchers believe that this finding can help in developing better breeding programs for the pandas in captivity and help perpetuate their numbers

The finding was published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.