- Thanks to a remarkably well-preserved thylacine skull, scientists managed to assemble the most complete Tasmanian tiger genome to date.
- At the same time, scientists have also been able to isolate long strands of RNA molecules from a 110-year-old specimen.
- The findings provide a detailed blueprint as researchers work toward bringing the extinct species back to life and reintroducing it to its native habitat in Australia.
Scientists may be a few steps closer to resurrecting a long-extinct carnivorous marsupial known as the Tasmanian tiger.
Colossal Biosciences, a company known for its genetic research to “de-extinct” several species thought lost to time, announced last week that it has assembled the most complete Tasmanian tiger genome to date. At the same time, scientists have also been able to isolate long strands of RNA molecules from a 110-year-old skull that was skinned and preserved in ethanol, Colossal said in a press release.
The potential breakthroughs represent the latest chapter for Colossal, which since 2022 has been working with the University of Melbourne’s Thylacine Integrated Genetic Restoration Research (TIGRR) Lab to bring back the Tasmanian tiger. The species, also known as a thylacine, was essentially hunted to extinction by 1936.
Armed with the findings, scientists now have a detailed blueprint as they work toward bringing the extinct species back to life and reintroducing it to its native habitat in Australia.
“We are pushing as fast as possible to create the science necessary to make extinction a thing of the past,” Colossal co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm said in a statement. “These advancements in this project are a huge step forward in that mission.”
Colossal Biosciences moved toward ‘de-extinction’ of Tasmanian tiger
Colossal came to prominence in 2021 with the bold declaration that it would use gene editing to resurrect none other than the famed woolly mammoth. The research set out to reprogram elephant DNA with mammoth characteristics, like thick hair and layers of fat, to help the hybrid animals survive in the Siberian tundra.
Since then, the genetic engineering company has also revealed intentions to research ways to resurrect the dodo and yes, even the Tasmanian tiger.
Using gene editing technology on a preserved thylacine genome to create an embryo, the team hopes to eventually reestablish the Tasmanian tiger on the island of Tasmania off the southeast tip of Australia.
The new research breakthroughs, which have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed paper, could be a step in that direction.
The preservation of a century-old Tasmanian tiger head allowed scientists to reconstruct a thylacine genome that is “the most complete and contiguous ancient genome of any species to date,” Colossal claimed. Although the genome still contains 45 gaps, researchers aim to close them with further sequencing in the coming months.
The team was also able to isolate long strands of ribonucleic acid (RNA) from the soft tissues of the preserved specimen, including from its tongue, nasal cavity, brain and eye.
RNA versus DNA
Structurally similar to DNA, RNA is genetic material present in all living cells that is used to convey information from the genome to the rest of the cell about what it should do. In other words, the RNA molecules are responsible for turning DNA’s genetic instructions into cellular function.
Isolating the genetic material means the scientists “will be able to determine what a thylacine could taste, what it could smell, what kind of vision it had and even how its brain functioned,” said Andrew Pask, a member of Colossal’s Scientific Advisory Board and a researcher at the University of Melbourne’s TIGRR Lab, in a statement.
Tasmanian tigers have been extinct for decades
At first glance, Tasmanian tigers appear to resemble a strange canine, but the animals are in fact marsupials – more closely related to kangaroos and koalas than wolves and dogs.
Found on the island of Tasmania off Australia’s south coast, the animal had distinct dark stripes running from its shoulders to its tail, as well as a dog-like head with powerful jaws and a back-opening pouch to carry young, according to the Australian Museum.
Before the last of the species died off nearly 80 years ago, the Tasmanian tiger was once widespread throughout continental Australia and later confined to the island of Tasmania. The carnivorous animals preyed upon kangaroos and other marsupials, as well as small rodents and birds, the museum says.
But the predators were no match for humans, as European colonizers began hunting the species in the late 19th century to eventual extinction to prevent the animals from killing off livestock, according to the Australian Museum.
A brief clip unearthed and digitized in 2020 shows what is believed to be the last remaining Tasmanian tiger living in captivity recorded in 1935. Released by Australia’s National Film and Sound Archive, the footage shows a tiger named Benjamin roaming an enclosure in a now-closed zoo about a year before his death.
Though eight sightings of the extinct marsupial have been reported to the Tasmanian government in recent years, none of them have been authenticated and verified.
Other scientists also hope to resurrect the long-lost species
Scientists at Colossal are not the only ones exploring the potential of reviving the Tasmanian tiger.
Last year, Swedish scientists were able to recover and sequence RNA from a roughly 130-year-old animal, preserved at a museum in Stockholm. At the time, the feat marked a first for RNA molecules being isolated and decoded from an extinct species, according to a study.
By studying the strands, researchers stood to learn more about the biology of the extinct species.
Though de-extinction was not the goal of last year’s study, researchers said that a better understanding of the Tasmanian tiger’s genetic makeup could pave the way to bring it back.
Contributing: Mike Snider, USA TODAY
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]
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