The DNA of extinct animals, including a long lost Australian frog, has been revived in an international “de-extinction” project.
The last wild Australian gastric-brooding frog (Rheobatrachus silus)
died in 1983. Gone forever was the unique amphibian with the absurd
habit of swallowing its eggs, brooding its young in its stomach and
giving birth through its mouth.
This decade, however, we could see the curious species come back to life. A team of Australian scientists is using advanced cloning technology to revive the long lost frog in a project called the Lazarus Project. The University of New South Wales (UNSW) scientists have recovered cell nuclei—the part of the cell with DNA inside—from dead gastric-brooding frogs that have been in a deep freezer for the past 40 years.
They implanted the nuclei into fresh, living eggs from a distantly related species of frog called a Great Barred Frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus). To the scientist’s delight, some of the eggs spontaneously divided and even grew to an early embryo stage.
“We are watching Lazarus arise from the dead, step by exciting step,” said the leader of the Lazarus Project team, UNSW Professor Mike Archer, in a statement. “We’ve reactivated dead cells into living ones and revived the extinct frog’s genome in the process. Now we have fresh cryo-preserved cells of the extinct frog to use in future cloning experime
nts.”
Although
the genetic material from the extinct frog only formed a cluster of
cells this time, the researchers are confident that the whole animal
could be bought back to life in future studies. They are even interested
in cloning the legendary Tasmanian Tiger some day.
Humans have caused the extinction of many animals and plants. We need to start caring for the environment quickly to restore ecosystems and prevent more species from disappearing. The Lazarus Project team is attending a TEDx DeExtinction event in Washington, US, where scientists from around the world gather to discuss the positives and negatives of bringing extinct plants and animals back to life.
Source: [UNSW Newsroom]
The last wild Australian gastric-brooding frog (Rheobatrachus silus)
died in 1983. Gone forever was the unique amphibian with the absurd
habit of swallowing its eggs, brooding its young in its stomach and
giving birth through its mouth.This decade, however, we could see the curious species come back to life. A team of Australian scientists is using advanced cloning technology to revive the long lost frog in a project called the Lazarus Project. The University of New South Wales (UNSW) scientists have recovered cell nuclei—the part of the cell with DNA inside—from dead gastric-brooding frogs that have been in a deep freezer for the past 40 years.
They implanted the nuclei into fresh, living eggs from a distantly related species of frog called a Great Barred Frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus). To the scientist’s delight, some of the eggs spontaneously divided and even grew to an early embryo stage.
“We are watching Lazarus arise from the dead, step by exciting step,” said the leader of the Lazarus Project team, UNSW Professor Mike Archer, in a statement. “We’ve reactivated dead cells into living ones and revived the extinct frog’s genome in the process. Now we have fresh cryo-preserved cells of the extinct frog to use in future cloning experime
nts.”
Humans have caused the extinction of many animals and plants. We need to start caring for the environment quickly to restore ecosystems and prevent more species from disappearing. The Lazarus Project team is attending a TEDx DeExtinction event in Washington, US, where scientists from around the world gather to discuss the positives and negatives of bringing extinct plants and animals back to life.
Source: [UNSW Newsroom]
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