A US bioscience company aiming to resurrect the Tasmanian tiger has achieved a significant milestone in its ambitious project, creating the ‘most complete’ genome of any extinct species to date.
Colossal Biosciences, founded in 2021 with the goal of bringing back the thylacine within a decade, has reportedly constructed a world-first genome that is 99.9% accurate.
The team utilised samples from a preserved thylacine head stored in ethanol and genetic material from dozens of thylacine pelts to assemble the genome.
The choice of the thylacine for de-extinction was influenced by its relatively recent extinction, with the last known tiger dying in Hobart in 1936.
Colossal scientists have also identified specific regions in individual genomes responsible for the thylacine’s distinctive jaw and skull, similar to features found in some wolves and dogs.
Using this information, they have gene-edited the cell line of the fat-tailed dunnart, a small marsupial, which could potentially carry the first thylacine embryo.
The fat-tailed dunnart was selected due to its successful breeding in captivity and suitability as a surrogate host for the thylacine embryo.
However, the gene edits to the dunnart cell line mean that the resulting animal will technically be a “hybrid” creature.
Colossal’s long-term plan involves reintroducing the re-engineered hybrid thylacine to its original habitat in Tasmania.
