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Science
Friday > Archives
> 2001
> April
> April 20, 2001:
Hour Two: Biotechnology and Endangered
Species
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Earlier this year, the company Advanced Cell Technology announced
that it had cloned an endangered animal -- a gaur, an ox-like
animal found in tropical woodlands in India, Indochina, and the
Malay Peninsula.
The cells used to create the clone (which the researchers named
"Noah") were taken from a skin sample taken from a deceased
gaur during an autopsy. Genetic material from the gaur cells was
implanted into an egg taken from a cow, which was then carried
to term in a regular female cow. Noah died within 48 hours of
birth from dysentery, which scientists said was unrelated to the
cloning process. The company is currently investigating cloning
pandas, using black bears as hosts.
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The birth of "Noah," a cloned gaur, January 2001.
Noah died soon after birth of an illness that
scientists believe to be a dysentery-like infection
unrelated to the cloning process.
(Advanced Cell Technology photo)
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The birth raised
the profile of the use of biotechnology in conservation efforts -- but
biotech techniques for working with endangered species aren't just limited
to cloning. Many researchers are using genetic samples to study the distribution
of species, and track the interrelations between one cluster of animals
and another. Such studies can help to prevent excessive interbreeding
among small groups of animals.
Florida Panther.
(USFWS photo/Don Pfitzer)
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Genetic studies were also key to an effort
to help the endangered Florida panther. As populations of the large
cat dwindled, the remaining animals became more and more inbred.
Conservationists discovered through genetic tests that the Florida
panthers were closely related to Texas cougars, and had previously
interbred. By introducing some of the cougars into the Florida panther
breeding pool, the scientists were able to increase the genetic
diversity of the species, producing a more healthy population. |
Some conservation scientists are using biotechnology to monitor trade
in endangered species -- and some are even looking into the possibility
of producing desirable animal products through artificial means, decreasing
the threat to endangered species. What other tools might be available
to researchers in the coming years? We'll talk about it. Call in with
your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255, and share your opinions
online in our Listeners'
Lounge (registration
required)
Guests:
Joshua Ginsberg
Director for Asia Programs
Wildlife Conservation Society
New York, New York
Betsy Dresser
Senior Vice President of Research
Audubon Nature Institute
New Orleans, Louisiana
Stephen O'Brien
Chief, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity
Frederick Cancer Research and Development
Center
National Cancer Institute, National
Institutes of Health
Frederick, Maryland
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
Scientific
American: Feature Article: Cloning Noah's Ark: November 2000
Genome
Resource Banks: Living collections for biodiversity conservation
Florida
panther, Links, Endangered Species: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
San
Diego Zoo: CRES
Wired:
Let's Go to the DNA Zoo!
Advanced
Cell Technology
Smithsonian
"NOAHS" Network (New Opportunities in Animal Health Sciences)
Smithsonian
Genome Resource Bank
National
Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory
ABCNEWS.com
: Cloning Endangered Species
Cloning
a Comeback? (washingtonpost.com)
This segment produced by: Annette
Heist
Web producer: Charles
Bergquist
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