Scientists have recently been able to employ nuclear transfer, the same technology used to clone Dolly the sheep, to clone the genome of extinct animals. Although this technology still has many flaws, it is an exciting prospect that humans can possibly bring extinct animals back to life.
This recent breakthrough by Dr. Jose Folch and his colleagues began when they extracted DNA from the last known female Pyrenean ibex or burcado, which was found dead, in 2000. The DNA from the extinct species of mountain goat, after being preserved in liquid nitrogen, was transplanted into the eggs of domestic goats. A total of 57 embryos were transplanted into surrogate mothers, however, only one mother gave birth to live female burcado. Unfortunately, the newborn clone died 7 minutes later due to breathing difficulties. Lung abnormalities seem to be a common trait of cloned newborns, which has been observed across a number of species.
This process is obviously highly inefficient with current technology, however, many scientists believe that a similar approach to cloning could be successful and effective in the future. Professor Robert Miller from the Medical Research Council's Reproductive Sciences Unit at Edinburgh University said this about the technology:
I think this is an exciting advance as it does show the potential of being able to regenerate extinct species. Clearly there is some way to go before it can be used effectively, but the advances in this field are such that we will see more and more solutions to the problems faced.
The prospect of reviving extinct species is therefore likely in the future, and presents the possibility of even resurrecting animals such as the wooly mammoth, whose DNA has been largely preserved in the ice. Some difficulties however, may arise in the process of extracting the full genome of extinct species, as DNA degrades over time.
By Lauren-Marie Moores
42029953
Article:
Dobson, R. and Gray, R. (4th Feb., 2009). Exticnt ibex is resurrected by cloning. [Online] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/sciencenews/4409958/Extinct-ibex-is-resurrected-by-cloning.html - accessed 6th April, 2009
