Pandas have always been known for their iconic black and white fur colors. However, in the Sibao Science Park of the Qinling Mountains, there is a panda named "Qizai", which has extremely rare brown hair and has become one of the most recognizable pandas.
In fact, "Qizai" is not an isolated case in the panda population. As early as 1985, a female brown panda named "Dandan" was first discovered and rescued in the Foping Nature Reserve in Shaanxi Province. In 2009, the male brown panda "Qizai" was discovered at a young age in the Foping Nature Reserve and was later rescued. He lived normally in a captive environment. So far, seven brown pandas have been recorded, all of which come from the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi.
How this unusual brown phenotype was formed and why it was only found in populations of the Qinling Mountains has always been a mystery that the public and researchers are eager to unravel.
Recently, the team of academician Wei Fuwen of the Chinese Academy of Sciences published research results on brown pandas in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), revealing for the first time the reasons for the color variation of brown pandas.
The research was completed by the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shaanxi Louguantai Rare Wild Animal Rescue and Breeding Center and other units. To reveal the genetic patterns and molecular mechanisms behind the brown panda, researchers constructed two families of the brown panda "Qizai" based on microsatellite genotyping data and captive breeding information of 157 pandas in the Foping Nature Reserve and its surrounding areas. They found that the parents and descendants of "Qizai" were both black and white in color. Combining the "Qizai" family and the known "Dandan" family, it was inferred that the brown phenotype was controlled by an autosomal recessive genetic pattern. This study provides a key scientific basis for captive breeding of brown pandas.