- Статьи
- Science and technology
- Or maybe cows: they planned to create a park of ancient animals on the Commander Islands
Or maybe cows: they planned to create a park of ancient animals on the Commander Islands
A platform for the revival of extinct animals can be created on the Commander Islands. For the first time in the world, Russian scientists have deciphered the mitochondrial genome of the Steller's cormorant, an extinct bird species that lived in the archipelago and was destroyed by hunting in the middle of the 19th century. According to experts, the Commanders are known for their unique ancient fauna and can become a place for such biotechnological experiments. However, for a full-fledged revival of the species, it is necessary to restore its complete genome, which remains an extremely difficult task today, experts say. In addition, the appearance of revived animals can pose risks to modern ecosystems. Specialists from different countries will have to work on the project, and its implementation will require a major breakthrough in biotechnology.
How ancient DNA can help us learn about the history of an extinct species
Scientists from the European University in St. Petersburg, the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and their colleagues have for the first time in the world deciphered the mitochondrial genome of the Steller cormorant, an extinct bird that lived on the Commander Islands.
According to experts, the data obtained will help restore the history of the species and in the future can be used for its revival using genomic editing methods. The study can also become the basis for the creation of a park of restored ancient species in the archipelago.
The mitochondrial genome is the hereditary material contained in mitochondria, the organelles responsible for energy production in the cell. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the maternal line and mutates 10-20 times faster than nuclear DNA. This allows it to be used to establish kinship relationships between species, as well as to study their origin, settlement and migration.
— The Steller cormorant is the largest member of the family. His weight reached 5-6 kg, and his body length was about a meter. He had dark plumage with a metallic sheen and characteristic bare patches of skin around his eyes — "glasses". Due to its large size and short wings, the bird took off hard, but it swam and dived well. At the same time, she was practically not afraid of humans," Artyom Nedoluzhko, one of the authors of the study and head of the EUSP Paleogenomics laboratory, told Izvestia.
According to him, the reason for the extinction of the species was the uncontrolled hunting of fishermen and sailors, who used spectacled cormorants as an easy source of meat and eggs. By the middle of the 19th century, the birds had been completely exterminated.
Scientists have isolated ancient DNA from cormorant bones found on Bering Island during an expedition of the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Radiocarbon dating has shown that the age of the remains ranges from 230 to 1510 years.
Genetic analysis has confirmed that the Steller cormorant belongs to the genus of North Pacific cormorants. Its closest modern relatives are the Bering and red—faced cormorants. According to the constructed phylogenetic tree, the Steller cormorant line separated from other members of the genus about 6.7 million years ago, in the Late Miocene.
Is it possible to create a park of extinct animals
— The data obtained will allow us to study in more detail the evolution of birds in the Pacific region, as well as more accurately establish cause-and-effect relationships and the chronology of the species' extinction. In the future, when the necessary technologies become available, the results of the study can become the basis for its restoration," Artyom Nedoluzhko clarified.
The revival of extinct species is a complex and ambitious project that can bring together biotechnologists, geneticists, ecologists and other specialists from all over the world. At the same time, the Commander Islands can become one of the key sites for such research. In the future, the world's first park of restored extinct species could be created here, the scientist believes.
He clarified that the archipelago, separated from the mainland, is a unique nature reserve, where entire communities of relict and endemic species lived until the beginning of the historical era. In addition to the most famous Steller's cow and Steller's cormorant, the vicinity of the islands was inhabited by the Tokto sea lion, a relict subspecies of long—eared seals.
— The genomes of extinct animals are invaluable archives of information. Studying them helps to reconstruct the history of species and understand the causes of their extinction. They can really become the basis for the restoration of ancient animals. This idea is gradually moving from science fiction to the category of ambitious scientific and technical tasks," said Vladimir Pinaev, associate professor at the P. Lumumba Institute of Ecology at the RUDN University, member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia and the Public Council of the Basic Organization of the CIS Member States for Environmental Education, editor-in—chief of the Resources magazine.
According to him, scientists are already using ancient DNA and genome editing technologies in projects to restore the woolly mammoth, dodo and dire wolf. However, instead of a complete "resurrection" of the species, it is likely that we will be talking about creating its functional counterpart — a genetically modified modern animal with a number of features of an extinct ancestor.
The Park of ancient Animals could become a symbol of human responsibility for nature conservation and at the same time a scientific and educational center. However, according to the expert, it is important not to forget about the endangered species today.
The revival of ancient species is fantastic
— The restoration of extinct animals is not a utopia, but neither is it a program for the coming decades. It is more correct to talk about the development of a whole range of technologies," said Konstantin Krutovsky, Head of the Scientific and Educational Center for Genomic Research at the Institute of Fundamental Biology and Biotechnology of the Siberian Federal University (SibFU), a leading researcher at the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Modern science has already made it possible to reconstruct the genomes of some recently extinct or ancient animals, he said. For example, for a mammoth, it was possible to obtain genomic sequences from samples hundreds of thousands of years old. The next stage is editing the genome of a modern closely related species. Theoretically, it is possible, for example, to change the genes associated with mammoth traits in elephants. However, the resulting animal will still remain an elephant with separate mammoth characteristics.
According to the expert, the most ambitious task is ecological reconstruction. It involves not only restoring individual species, but also creating a suitable habitat for them. The purpose of such a park may be the formation of experimental ecosystems in which scientists can study the restoration of lost ecological functions. An interesting option would be a territory with different zones — modern, historical, Pleistocene and others.
It is important to take into account that mitochondrial DNA makes up only a small part of the genetic material, the scientist noted. It contains about 17,000 pairs of nucleotides, whereas the complete genome is much larger and includes billions of nucleotides.
— Similar projects already exist. In particular, a Pleistocene Park is being developed in Yakutia, where they are trying to recreate an ecosystem that existed tens of thousands of years ago. A large number of scientists are working on the restoration of ancient species in the world. Unfortunately, these studies have not led to results so far," said Olga Sibiryakova, a researcher at the Laboratory of Vertebrate Behavior at the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University.
At the same time, separate attempts were made. For example, in 2000, the last individual of the Pyrenean goat, or bucardo, died. Scientists tried to restore this subspecies by cloning: the cub was born in 2003, but died seven minutes after birth due to a lung defect.
The main difficulty of cloning extinct species is the need to restore the complete genome. In practice, scientists have so far managed to obtain only individual fragments of it. In addition, it is necessary to find a suitable surrogate mother capable of carrying an embryo. For example, modern sloths are significantly smaller than some extinct species, so it is impossible to use them to bear offspring of large ancient relatives. However, the idea of an ancient species park should be approached with caution, as such actions may threaten modern species.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
