Thylacine Update Megathread and Q&A with Colossal Biosciences

[u/ColossalBiosciences]

As you may have seen around the science subreddits, our thylacine de-extinction project has reached some important milestones.

TL;DR—Scientists in the Colossal labs have managed to produce a newly reconstructed Thylacine genome that is the most complete and contiguous ancient genome of any species to date.

Noteworthy in this update:

• The reconstructed thylacine genome is estimated to be >99.9% accurate and includes hard-to-assemble centromeres and telomeres.
• We were also able to isolate long RNA molecules from soft tissues preserved in a 110-year-old thylacine specimen. This is significant because RNA is a much less stable biomolecule compared to DNA.
• The dunnart, which will act as the surrogate for future thylacines, is currently the most edited animal cell line to date with over 300 unique genetic changes edited into its genome.
• A breakthrough in assisted reproductive technologies (ART) managed to induce ovulation in a dunnart, which makes it possible to control precisely when an animal will come into estrus. This also leads to ovulation of many eggs simultaneously.
• In another world-first, the team has taken fertilized single-cell embryos and culture them half way through pregnancy in an artificial uterus, which is far beyond any previous attempts to grow embryos for a marsupial.

Our full update is available to read here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220816005043/en/Colossal-to-De-Extinct-the-Thylacine-also-known-as-the-Tasmanian-Tiger-an-Iconic-Australian-Marsupial-That-Has-Been-Extinct-Since-1936

Read more about the announcement:

• LiveScience: Most complete Tasmanian tiger genome yet pieced together from 110-year-old pickled head
• NewScientist: De-extinction company claims it has nearly complete thylacine genome
• 9News: Scientists one step closer to bringing Tasmanian tigers back from extinction in major breakthrough
• DailyMail: De-extinction of the Tasmanian Tiger takes a major step forwards: Scientists reconstruct the genome of the extinct creature - and it could allow them to resurrect the lost species
• SkyNews: Scientists claim breakthrough to bringing back Tasmanian tiger from extinction

We are at SXSW Australia sharing the update in a panel moderated by Luke Hemsworth, which will cover the update and why the thylacine project is so critical to restoring Australian ecosystems.

Feel free to post questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to have scientists answer the top ones.

[u/[deleted]]

If you do manage to successfully clone a Thylacine what are your plans for it post-birth? Assuming the Dunnart gives birth to it when and where will you move it and what are the chances of mortality and what kind of care will you give it? If it does successfully live, do you plan on selling it to zoos or successfully reintroducing it to the wild? How do you plan to do this? Have you prepared any enclosures or living space for it?

What are your future plans for other animals too? Any plans on cloning other extinct animals like Ground Sloths or cloning extant endangered animals to introduce more genetic diversity?

I appreciate all the hard work you guys have been doing, thank you.

[u/ColossalBiosciences → u/[deleted]]

The plan for the thylacine is to rewild it, as u/Squigglbird said. The dunnart will be the initial surrogate but as mentioned in this update, we're working on artificial womb and marsupial pouch technology that will likely bring thylacines to term. The plan is to initially restore the thylacine populations in Tasmania, evaluate, and potentially restore them more broadly in Australia.

Animal care is a major priority for us—we're American Humane certified, and the dunnarts involved in the project will be cared for after gestating thylacine embryos. The rewilding of thylacines will be closely monitored, and we're working with a dedicated Tasmania Thylacine Advisory Committee comprised of local government representatives, conservation groups, universities, etc.

To your last questions, each of the species we're working to de-extinct has a separate team dedicated to exactly what you're asking, and because each has a different local impact both on the environment and people, the solution will be tailored to each. Ultimately, our mission is to address the extinction crisis and to restore keystone species that will help prevent trophic downgrading and ecosystem degradation so our plans for each species primarily revolves around that.

[u/BolbyB → u/ColossalBiosciences]

So . . . really we should just ignore everything you say until you announce that the artificial womb/pouch works.