{"id":43656,"date":"2024-11-07T13:34:38","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T12:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4f1abffd-68a2-4ae1-9511-d58e0701d2f3"},"modified":"2024-11-07T14:27:29","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T13:27:29","slug":"why-this-skinned-head-preserved-in-ethanol-for-more-than-100-years-has-got-de-extinction-experts-so-excited","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/why-this-skinned-head-preserved-in-ethanol-for-more-than-100-years-has-got-de-extinction-experts-so-excited\/","title":{"rendered":"Why this skinned head preserved in ethanol for more than 100 years has got de-extinction experts so excited"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientists say that ‘ancient DNA’ extracted from the head has allowed them to complete more than 99.9 per cent of the species genome. Here’s what that means… <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 07 November 2024 at 12:34 PM<\/p>

\n\n

\u201cNobody wants to see a live thylacine more than I do,\u201d says Australian mammal expert Dr Jack Ashby, assistant director of the University of Cambridge\u2019s Museum of Zoology. \u201cFor one thing, the presence of a large predator would be great for ecological integrity.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

But there are buts. How has Tasmania changed in the decades since the thylacine, a wolf-sized and shaped carnivorous marsupial<\/a>, went extinct decades ago; how would people, farmers especially, react and \u2013\u00a0perhaps most important of all \u2013\u00a0is it really possible to bring it back from oblivion?<\/p>

Rare footage of the Tasmanian tiger (thylacine)\/Colossal Biosciences<\/em> <\/figcaption> <\/figure> The biosciences company\u00a0 Colossal<\/a>\u00a0is increasingly bullish about its prospects of recreating a thylacine. The firm recently announced that, thanks to a skinned head preserved in ethanol that has been in the hands of Museums Victoria for more than 100 years, it has now been able to complete more than 99.9 per cent of the species genome, and that total completion should now be possible.<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s rare to have a sample that allows you to push the envelope in ancient DNA methods to such an extent,\u201d says Beth Shapiro, Colossal\u2019s chief science officer. \u201cWe\u2019ve delivered a record-breaking ancient genome that will accelerate our thylacine de-extinction project.\u201d<\/p>

Visualisation of the Tasmanian tiger in motion\/Colossal Biosciences<\/em> <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
Back from the dead: 10 animals once presumed extinct<\/a><\/li> <\/ul>
But how do you bring back the thylacine when you don\u2019t have any females in which to grow an embryo? The solution \u2013\u00a0the fat-tailed dunnart.<\/p>
Though superficially reminiscent to a mouse and very different to a thylacine, the fat-tailed dunnart is nevertheless one of its closest-living relatives. Both belong to the Dasyuridae family (which also includes quolls and the Tasmanian devil<\/a>), a group of mostly small, insectivorous marsupials.\u00a0<\/p>
Colossal\u2019s plan is to edit the genome of the dunnart to make it as close as possible to the thylacine\u2019s and then insert this into an egg cell and grow the embryo that way. Scientists say the resulting animal won\u2019t be a thylacine but a close approximation of one.<\/p>

Colony of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) made from the skin cells of the fat-tailed dunnart\/Colossal Biosciences <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
Ashby is both sceptical of the how scientifically possible this will be and concerned about the impact any recreated thylacines could have on still-living and vulnerable species such as the devil, which has been so devastated by an infectious cancer in recent decades.<\/p>
\u201cWould having a thylacine-like animal be better than having nothing?\u201d Ashby asks. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to argue that it would be \u2013\u00a0it\u2019s an interesting ethical question. But Colossal is making significant advances in marsupial conservation genetics, and what they are doing will produce valuable information that could help with the marsupial extinction crisis in Australia.\u201d<\/p>

Inside Colossal’s thylacine lab\/Colossal Biosciences<\/em> <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
Main image: 108-year-old thylacine head\/Colossal Biosciences<\/em><\/p>
More wildlife stories from around the world<\/strong><\/p>
Scientists stuck cameras on 10 whales in Australia \u2013 here’s what they saw<\/a><\/li>
Haunting before-and-after photos reveal retreat of Arctic glaciers<\/a><\/li>
Harvard scientists sent two flying robots on a mission \u2013 and they’ve just detected something<\/a><\/li>
Bizarre new toad with missing body parts discovered in Brazilian rainforest<\/a><\/li> <\/ul> <\/body><\/html>\n
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