This will be the first such research facility in Russia.

Apart from snow leopards, the Center will study lynxes, Pallas’s cats, reed cats, Central Asian leopards, Far East leopards, Amur tigers, and other felines

The Center is aimed at supported reserve populations of endangered cats. The more there are such center, the wider the genetic variability is and the easier it will be to replenish their populations, says Director of the Center for Regenerative and Precision Medicine of KFU Albert Rizvanov.

“We will study rare felines. The data will be used for research goals and for preparing strategies to preserves endangered species. For instance, we must learn to select couples for optimal mating, to work on genetic passport technologies, and to evaluate stress indicators in animals,” adds he.

Kazan University has long been one of the leading genetics institutions in Russia, with such partners as RIKEN, Cornell University, University of Nottingham, and others.

“To treat rare species, we may use technologies researched at Kazan Federal University. For example, we have yielded good results in treating horses’ ligaments. We also have something in treating ulcers, bite wounds, and fractures in dogs. Recently, we’ve been working on similar medications for felines. Predators have an active lifestyle, so they’re prone to injury. This means that our work in regenerative medicine can be in demand. We are also advanced in multi-omics technology, utilizing genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and other tech. Also, noninvasive diagnostics methods will also come in handy,” explains Dr. Rizvanov.

The research at the Snow Leopard Center will be conducted in cooperation with the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution.

Source text: Larisa Busil

Translation: Yury Nurmeev