Extinct Tasmanian Tigers DNA ressurected

(Image of Tasmanian Tiger from Wikipedia)

After almost 70 years after hunted into extinction, scientist’s have successfully revived the DNA of the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacine) in mice. This is indeed the first time that DNA of an extinct creature has been resurrected in a live animal.

Even though -for the time being- the scientist are not able to bring back the Thylacine back to life, fully functional DNA of it, has the potential to help scientist understand the functions of many genes if not otherwise be impossible to observe.

Fortunately Thylacine’s have been preserved in alcohol, in several museum around the world. DNA was extracted from these specimens and inserted into mouse embryos. Researchers observed that a fragment of Thylacine DNA like its mouse counterpart was able to regulate the gene Co12a1, which is the key to the embryonic development of cartilage and that later forms bone.

"Examining function in whole embryos enables us to determine when genes are turned on and off and in which cell types and organs, so that we can accurately assess gene function," researcher Marilyn Renfree, a reproductive and developmental biologist at the University of Melbourne explained.

Up until now, genetic material extracted from extinct species had at most been inserted into cells grown on dishes in labs, and it has been impossible to observe the role DNA played in development.

"Extant species — those alive on the planet today — represent less than 1 percent of the total biodiversity that has ever existed," researcher Andrew Pask, a molecular biologist at the University of Melbourne in Australia explained. "For those species that have already become extinct, our method shows that access to their genetic biodiversity may not be completely lost."

The scientists have published details their findings online on May 21 in the journal PLoS ONE.

Source: LiveScience