Hyderabad: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will dedicate to the nation the much awaited Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) on the city's outskirts Feb 1. 

The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has developed this facility with the Central Zoo Authority of India (CZA), department of biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Andhra Pradesh government as its partners.

The government has allotted seven acres of land. The CCMB developed the facility under the leadership of CCMB director Lalji Singh and its group leader S. Shivaji to deal with issues related to the conservation of biodiversity among the wildlife.

"Once this facility is fully functional, zoological parks in the country can play an important role as laboratories for scientific breeding of endangered species," said Singh.

According to a statement from CCMB, for genetic programme, it is proposed to determine the genetic diversity of lions and tigers and select those genotypes, which show higher degree of genetic diversity to ensure that prevalent diversity is maintained in these species.

Animals with breeding problems could be assisted by artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation, a technique that is equivalent to the test-tube babies in humans. Sperm, egg and cell banks will help in producing specific animals if and when necessity arises.

"Such scientifically bred animals can be nurtured in a twilight zone with minimum human intervention in order to maintain their wild characteristics. These animals then could be released in a forest wherever required when the number of animals reaches below a critical level," Singh added.