2023-09-26 19:56:02
The Tasmanian tiger is the first extinct species for which Swedish researchers have been able to isolate and sequence RNA. An advance that could help scientists “resurrect” an extinct species.
Towards a “resurrection” of the Tasmanian tiger? An important step has indeed been taken by scientists from Stockholm University who have succeeded in recovering, for the first time, ribonucleic acid (RNA) from an extinct species, namely the Thylacinus cynocephalus or Tasmanian tiger . Enough to delight fans of “de-extinction” projects, which seek to bring extinct species, such as the Tasmanian tiger or mammoths, back to life through cloning. It is therefore not a question of “resurrecting” the animal in question but of creating a similar one which fulfills the same role as its congener in the environment.
And RNA sequencing is an essential step. “Reconstruction of a living, functioning Tasmanian tiger requires not only in-depth knowledge of its genome (DNA), but also of tissue-specific gene expression dynamics and the functioning of gene regulation, which can only be obtained ‘by studying its transcriptome (RNA)”, it is thus specified in a communiqué published on September 22, 2023 by Stockholm University. “Never has the RNA of an extinct species been extracted and sequenced”also told AFP Love Dalén, professor of evolutionary genetics who co-led the project.
Also readMammoths, Tasmanian tigers, migratory pigeons: scientists’ crazy bet to bring extinct species back to life
Hope for “de-extinction” projects
The results of their study were published in the journal Genome Research . Dalén and his team successfully sequenced RNA from a 130-year-old Tasmanian tiger specimen kept by the National Museum of Natural History in Stockholm. They were thus able to reconstitute the RNA from the animal’s muscles and skin. RNA is a molecule that allows the genetic code to be expressed in each cell and thus gives it instructions for action. The recovered sequences “were of such quality that it was possible to identify RNAs coding for proteins specific to muscles and skin”the researchers specified in their press release. “If we want to resurrect an extinct animal, we need to know where the genes are, what they do and in which tissues they are regulated”Dalén explained.
The Tasmanian tiger specimen, more than 130 years old, studied by researchers. JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP
The last known Tasmanian tiger, a carnivorous marsupial, died in captivity in 1936 in Tasmania (southern Australia). After European colonization of Australia, other specimens were exterminated by humans. The animal had in fact been declared a pest and a reward offered for each animal killed. For Daniela Kalthoff, in charge of the mammal collection at the natural history museum, and interviewed by AFP, this study opens the way to new research on “the exciting idea” of a resurrection of the marsupial.
Also read: RNA, a technology that has long encountered skepticism
The researchers’ findings will also have implications for the study of RNA viruses. “In the future, we may be able to recover not only the RNA of extinct animals, but also the genomes of RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV2 and their evolutionary precursors from bat skins and d ‘other host organisms preserved in museum collections’, indicates Love Dalén, quoted by the press release. The researchers also imagine the possibility of extending RNA recovery to other collections in other museums around the world. “There are millions and millions of dried skins and tissues of insects, mammals and birds in museum collections around the world, and we could recover RNA from all of these specimens”according to the scientist.
1695770056
#time #RNA #Tasmanian #tiger #species #extinct #years #recovered