Company bringing back woolly mammoth plans to de-extinct the bluebuck,
Colossal Biosciences, the company trying to resurrect the woolly mammoth, has set its sights on another extinct animal – the bluebuck.
This species of antelope thrived in Southern Africa until just 230 years ago, when it was hunted to extinction for its unique silvery slate–blue skin.
Standing at four feet tall, the bluebuck was smaller than modern antelopes but grew enormous, curved horns that could stretch up to two feet (65 cm) long.
Now, Colossal Biosciences has unveiled an ambitious plan to bring this lost species back from the dead.
The company plans to modify the genes of the bluebuck’s living relatives – the roan and sable antelopes – to make a hybrid that closely resembles the extinct species.
This is the same technique the company recently used to recreate the dire wolf, 12,000 years after they vanished from the Earth.
Scientists have been working on the project to bring back the bluebuck for two years, and claim to have made several key breakthroughs.
Although Colossal Biosciences doesn’t have a timeline for the species’ return, it is working to find ‘rewilding’ sites in South Africa where the bluebuck could be released.
Colossal Biosciences, the company trying to resurrect the woolly mammoth, has set its sights on another extinct animal – the bluebuck
The bluebuck has a special place on the long list of extinct species because it is the first animal in modern history to be wiped out entirely by humans.
After playing a key role in the grassland ecosystem of South Africa’s southwestern Cape for thousands of years, the last bluebuck was killed sometime around 1800.
This was just 34 years after the species was first scientifically documented.
Ben Lamm, CEO and co–founder of Colossal Biosciences, says: ‘The bluebuck represents a pivotal step forward for Colossal and conservation, marking our first major focus on antelope conservation.
‘Every reproductive technology, genome editing protocol, and conservation tool we develop through this effort is designed to scale.
‘By focusing on the bluebuck, we’re not only working to restore a lost species, but also building solutions that can help protect entire ecosystems.’
Mr Lamm adds that the bluebuck project has only been made possible by ‘major developments with the necessary technologies’.
Colossal Biosciences’ controversial de–extinction method does not really bring the species back, but rather creates a genetically–engineered hybrid that has many of that species’ key traits.
Standing at four feet tall, the bluebuck was smaller than modern antelopes but grew enormous, curved horns that could stretch up to two feet (65 cm) long
Using a historical bluebuck specimen housed at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, scientists first reconstructed the species’ genome.
The reconstructed genetic code was then compared to the genomes of the roan and sable antelopes to see which genes made these species unique.
Colossal Biosciences says its scientists have successfully found the genes that gave the bluebuck its smaller size, bluish–grey coat colouration, and characteristic white facial pattern.
Professor Michael Hofreiter, a geneticist at the University of Potsdam who led the work, says: ‘Our initial genomic work with Colossal scientists on bluebuck specimens two years ago demonstrated that viable DNA could be recovered from this extinct species and placed it within the evolutionary context of other African antelopes.
‘The technological advances Colossal has made, transformed what was possible even a few years ago, taking us from reading ancient genomes to rewriting them for conservation.’
The next step will be to make those genetic changes in an embryo taken from a roan antelope and insert that embryo into a surrogate mother.
The surrogate will carry the genetically modified calf to term and give birth to something that has all the key characteristics that made the bluebuck distinct.
This is where Colossal Biosciences’ other major breakthrough becomes important.
Mammoth de-extinction uses a process Mr Lamm describes as ‘reverse Jurassic Park’. Genes from ancient mammoth DNA are combined with DNA from an Asian Elephant to create hybrid stem cells which can be used to create woolly mammoth embryos
Scientists have found a way to turn adult cells from the roan antelope into ‘induced pluripotent stem cells’ (iPSCs), a type of cell that can transform into any tissue in the body.
With the right chemical encouragement, these stem cells can be coaxed into becoming muscle, skin, pigment–producing cells, and even eggs or sperm.
Dr Beth Shapiro, chief science officer at Colossal Biosciences, says: ‘Once you have a pluripotent cell line, you can differentiate it into virtually any tissue type, which means you can test how genetic changes affect biology without needing a living animal.
‘That matters enormously for species where every individual counts.’
Those techniques will not only be useful for bringing back the bluebuck, but also in aiding conservation projects for antelopes currently on the brink of extinction.
Currently, populations are declining in two–thirds of all antelope species, with more than 25 per cent of species considered at risk.
Five of those species – the addax, hirola, Ader’s duiker, dama gazelle, and saiga – are now classified as Critically Endangered.
Colossal Biosciences is creating a ‘genetic library’ of DNA from threatened species, so that rare species can be bred if their numbers teeter too close to extinction.
Although the woolly mammoth has been extinct for over 4,000 years, there are enough traces of its DNA for scientists to sequence the entire mammoth genome
However, the company’s main goal is to reintroduce the extinct bluebuck into its original habitat.
It claims that this ‘re–wilding’ will help to restore the natural ecosystem of Southern Africa, which has degraded since the bluebuck’s extinction.
Colossal is currently collaborating with Advanced Conservation Strategies (ACS), an ecology research group, to plan a pathway towards reintroduction.
Scientists will consider potential reintroduction sites, ecological requirements, population viability, partner landscapes, and regulatory pathways.
However, the company has yet to disclose where it is considering reintroducing these long–lost animals.
Professor Alto Charo, an expert in bioethics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and adviser to Colossal Biosciences, says: ‘De–extinction done well is an act of ecological responsibility as well as scientific ambition.’
However, the ambition to bring lost species back from extinction has also proven controversial.
After claiming to have ‘de–extincted’ the dire wolf, Colossal Biosciences was widely criticised for making a misleading claim.
This comes after the company was criticised for claiming to have created a ‘dire wolf’. Critics pointed out that the animals were, in fact, just genetically modified grey wolves
As many critics pointed out, the animals scientists had created were not ‘dire wolves’ but simply genetically modified grey wolves.
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Likewise, ecologists have questioned whether a species can safely be reintroduced to an ecosystem that has changed so thoroughly in its absence.
After the company revealed it was planning to bring back the giant Moa bird, experts pointed out that this could lead to unintended consequences.
Professor Stuart Pimm, an ecologist at Duke University who was not involved in the study, told AP at the time: ‘Can you put a species back into the wild once you’ve exterminated it there?
‘I think it’s exceedingly unlikely that they could do this in any meaningful way.’
