Will Tasmanian Tigers make a return?
Illustration from Biodiversity Heritage Library, National Geographic Website
The infamous extinct animal, the Tasmanian tiger, also known as the Thylacine, is a wild animal that has vanished from the face of the earth for 87 years due to hunting by humans and dingos. Recently, a fortunate stroke of serendipity occurred when a Scandinavian research team recovered a minuscule RNA molecule from a 130-year-old deceased Thylacine's skin and muscle. This is a crucial discovery, as RNA is a significant material for getting a chance to replicate the animal.
RNA (ribonucleic acid), more fragile than DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), marks this study as the first to be extracted from an extinct animal. As RNA reads the genetic code for the animal, scientists can carry out the codes for protein-coding contained in DNA structures.
The formerly recognised apex predator has been proposed to be the answer to the problem of kangaroo and wallaby overpopulation while lowering the rate of diseased wildlife to prevent proliferation without the complexity of substituting a non-native animal for the role of an apex predator. Hence, scientists believe they are an essential species in the wild ecosystem. "Our ultimate goal with this technology is to restore these species to the wild, where they played absolutely essential roles in the ecosystem," says Andrew Pask, an epigeneticist at the University of Melbourne, in an interview with CNN.
As this technology of extraction and recreation of an extinct animal is still relatively new, everything is still in the trial-and-error phase of the project. This is a massive accomplishment in being able to retrieve brittle RNA material from a desiccated Tasmanian tiger. However, cloning is not involved in the concept of reviving a species; instead, it has so far revolved around the idea of changing an animal's closest living relative's genetic expression while it is still in utero—perhaps the Tasmanian devil or the fat-tailed dunnart in the case of the Thylacine.
Bibliography:
Corbley, A. (2023, September 21). Tasmanian Tiger RNA Recovered from Preserved Specimen in Groundbreaking World First. goodnewsnetwork. https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/tasmanian-tiger-rna-recovered-from-preserved-specimen-in-groundbreaking-world-first/
Dunham, W. (2023, September 21). In a first, RNA is recovered from extinct Tasmanian tiger. ctvnews. https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/in-a-first-rna-is-recovered-from-extinct-tasmanian-tiger-1.6571424#:~:text=In%20a%20scientific%20first%2C%20researchers,at%20a%20museum%20in%20Stockholm.
Hunt, K. (2023, September 20). Scientists recover RNA from an extinct species for the first time. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/19/world/scientists-recover-rna-tasmanian-tiger-thylacine-scn/index.html
Kuta, S. (2022, August 19). Why the Idea of Bringing the Tasmanian Tiger Back From Extinction Draws So Much Controversy. smithsonianmag. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-want-to-bring-back-the-tasmanian-tiger-extinct-since-1936-180980604/#:~:text=The%20researchers%20believe%20that%20thylacines,to%20prevent%20diseases%20from%20proliferating.
Kuta, S. (2023, April 11). Extinct Tasmanian Tigers May Have Survived Longer Than Previously Thought. smithsonianmag. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/extinct-tasmanian-tigers-may-have-survived-longer-than-previously-thought-180981958/#:~:text=Eventually%2C%20this%20systematic%20slaying%20decimated,in%20remote%20places%20in%20Tasmania.
