Real-life Jurassic Park startup Colossal BioSciences announced January 15 that it has raised $200 million to bring back three extinct animals: the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger and the dodo bird. Resurrecting an extinct ancient species would be a first that would require Colossal researchers to overcome some colossal challenges. The company says it has amassed the most continuous and complete genomes for the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and the dodo (Raphus cucullatus). But to get from ancient genome to living species will require major advances in a host of fields, including computational biology, cellular engineering, genetic engineering, embryology and animal husbandry.
If the company succeeds, the resurrected animals will not be exactly the same as their ancient predecessors; rather, they will be a product of both genetic and environmental traits from related, living species. To make a woolly mammoth, Colossal researchers plan to edit 85 elephant genes, develop the cell lines, fuse the cell nuclei to Asian elephant eggs, and implant the edited embryo in Asian or African elephant surrogates. To bring back the dodo, Colossal will turn to the bird’s closest living relative: the Nicobar pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica). For the Tasmanian tiger, the company is relying on the fat-tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata). The effort will combine multiplex genome editing, artificial wombs, and the growth of wild bird primordial germ cells.
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