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https://theconversation.com/weve-decoded-the-numbat-genome-and-it-could-bring-the-thylacines-resurrection-a-step-closer-176528>
"It used to be the stuff of science fiction: bringing a long-dead species back
from extinction by painstakingly piecing together its full DNA sequence, or
genome.
It’s not quite as straightforward as Jurassic Park would have us believe, but
in the age of DNA editing, the idea of cloning an extinct species is no longer
purely the realm of fantasy.
Today, our team at the DNA Zoo has hopefully taken a step towards creating a
blueprint to clone one of Australia’s most loved, and most missed, extinct
species: the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger.
We’ve done it not by studying the thylacine itself, but by completing a
chromosome-length 3D genome map of one of its closest living relative: the
numbat.
The striped, termite-eating numbat is Western Australia’s faunal emblem, and
now lives only in small pockets of that state, although it once roamed
throughout southern Australia. Crucially, numbats and thylacines shared a
common ancestor that lived some time between 35 million and 41 million years
ago – relatively recent in evolutionary terms.
Both these enigmatic creatures have stripes, but that’s not where the
similarity ends – as much as 95% of their DNA may be identical.
Decoding the full numbat genome therefore raises the tantalising prospect of
being able to piece together the thylacine’s genetic sequence, which in turn
would offer the tantalising prospect of reintroducing one of Australia’s most
iconic lost species."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
