Post by warsaw on Dec 10, 2012 7:25:21 GMT -9
Scientists Aim to Recreate Extinct Auroch
January 4, 2011
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Using DNA from bones in museums, Polish scientists want to recreate the auroch, an extinct species of wild cattle that roamed Polish forests in the Middle Ages. The project involves a group of experts in fields such as genetics, embryology and biotechnology.
Funding for the project comes from the Polish Foundation for Recreating the Auroch, which marked its four years in existence in October.
The project is led by Prof. Ryszard S³omski, head of the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology at the University of Life Sciences in Poznañ and deputy director of the Institute of Human Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznañ; Prof. Jacek A. Modliñski, head of the Department of Experimental Embryology at the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding in Jastrzêbiec near Warsaw; and Miros³aw Ryba, M.D., president of the Polish Foundation for Recreating the Auroch.
Life from a test tube
After four years of research, the scientists say they are satisfied with the results. “You could say that the auroch has already been brought back to life in our test tubes,” said S³omski.
The project initially caused controversy and raised many ethical questions, particularly regarding cloning. However, the researchers insisted from the beginning that the project was primarily aimed at conducting wide-ranging genetic research on the auroch—using remains of these animals found in Poland.
The scientists say they want to explain the causes behind the auroch’s extinction, examine its relationship with contemporary indigenous breeds of cattle, and determine genetic and pathological changes. The reasons why the aurochs became extinct need to be examined carefully, they say, if only to avoid a similar problem with domestic cattle in the future.
The research undertaken by the Polish scientists fits into contemporary trends in research into ancient fossil DNA. Such studies have been conducted around the world over the past two decades. Russian and Japanese researchers, for example, have zeroed in on the mammoth, while their counterparts in Australia on the Tasmanian tiger.
For the time being, the quagga, an African animal that was similar to the zebra and became extinct over a century ago, is the first mammal reproduced by scientists nearly 150 years after its extinction. German researchers have already managed to rear the third and fourth generations of an animal that resembles the quagga. In the project, the researchers used genetic material from the quagga and the contemporary living zebra.
The ongoing research into the auroch’s DNA is expected to help advance genetic engineering and biotechnology. The project also aims to stimulate debate on the protection of animals threatened with extinction and on ways of staving off this process with the use of cloning.
Cloning of endangered species, called emergency cloning, has already worked several times. In 2001, scientists in Italy succeeded in recreating the European moufflon, which today lives in small flocks in Sardinia, Corsica and Cyprus. Scientists have also tried cloning in the case of rare species of wild cattle—American researchers have cloned the Asian gaur (Bos gaurus) and banteng (Bos javanicus).
King of the forest
The auroch (Bos primigenius) was one of the largest animals that ever lived in Europe. Its appearance and biology have been partially retraced thanks to extensive historical documentation, ancient and medieval records, drawings and analysis of bone material from excavations. An adult male auroch was up to 3 meters in length and 2 m in height at the withers, and weighed 800-1,000 kg. The auroch was an even-toed ungulate. Scientists believe that the animal was domesticated in Asia thousands of years ago and was the ancestor of most contemporary cattle species.
Among the causes behind the auroch’s extinction were hunting and poaching, a shrinking habitat due to the development of farming, climate changes and diseases transmitted by cattle.
Why did the Polish scientists decide to focus on the auroch? This animal is commonly associated with Poland. In the Middle Ages, it was a symbol of Polish forests and survived the longest here, according to historical sources. The extinction process began in the 10th century. First these animals disappeared from Western Europe—in the 10th century they died out in France, and in the late 11th and 12th centuries in Germany. By the 14th century they only survived in Poland’s Mazovia region. The auroch was under special protection of Polish kings who had the exclusive right to hunt these animals. Royal hunting inspectors were required to take special care of the disappearing flocks and submit regular reports on the status of the species. According to chroniclers, the last auroch died in 1627 in Jaktorowska Forest, west of Warsaw. Today, the world’s only monument to the auroch can be found there. Poland is where the largest number of auroch bones and horns have been preserved.
Cracking the code
The first stage of work aimed at cloning the extinct auroch involved isolating the animal’s DNA. This was done thanks to museum exhibits. The preserved bones of these animals held their DNA, which allowed the researchers to obtain the necessary genetic information. A group of molecular biologists from S³omski’s team in 2007 began to examine the DNA in auroch skulls and teeth found in archeological and zoological collections.
The next step was checking whether the acquired genetic information could be used in laboratory procedures. This ended in success as well. Currently, the researchers are in the process of sequencing the DNA, which means they are studying the DNA sequence in order to crack the auroch’s genetic code. The research team has sequenced quite a few segments of the DNA, including those originating from nuclei, which rarely happens in the case of extinct organisms, according to the scientists.
A further step will be to compare the genes of the auroch to those of other animals living today. At this stage the auroch’s genetic material will be introduced into a mouse and rabbit.
Bringing back extinct animals
In May 2010, Jastrzêbiec near Warsaw hosted the First International Conference on the Restoration of Endangered and Extinct Animals. The conference was organized by the three main Polish centers dealing with the reconstruction of the auroch: the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the Agricultural University of Poznañ, the Polish Foundation for Recreating the Auroch, and the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding.
At the conference, Polish scientists discussed the findings of their research on the auroch’s DNA and also brainstormed ways of preventing the extinction of endangered species including the use of cloning.
The conference attracted more than 100 scientists from both Polish and foreign research centers dealing with animals facing extinction, both wild and domesticated. Speakers included Prof. Eric H. Harley, who has been involved in the project for recreating the quagga; Prof. Pasqualino Loi, who talked about the somatic cloning of wild animals; and Prof. Alexei Tikhonov, who is involved in research into the mammoth.
In addition to conducting scientific research, members of the Polish Foundation for Recreating the Auroch try to educate the public. In 2008, a book entitled Czy tur powróci do polskich lasów (Will the Auroch Return to Polish Forests) was published by Ryszard S³omski, Miros³aw Ryba and Alexander M. Dzieduszycki. The book is a compendium of knowledge about the auroch.
www.warsawvoice.pl/WVpage/pages/article.php/23007/article
January 4, 2011
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Using DNA from bones in museums, Polish scientists want to recreate the auroch, an extinct species of wild cattle that roamed Polish forests in the Middle Ages. The project involves a group of experts in fields such as genetics, embryology and biotechnology.
Funding for the project comes from the Polish Foundation for Recreating the Auroch, which marked its four years in existence in October.
The project is led by Prof. Ryszard S³omski, head of the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology at the University of Life Sciences in Poznañ and deputy director of the Institute of Human Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznañ; Prof. Jacek A. Modliñski, head of the Department of Experimental Embryology at the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding in Jastrzêbiec near Warsaw; and Miros³aw Ryba, M.D., president of the Polish Foundation for Recreating the Auroch.
Life from a test tube
After four years of research, the scientists say they are satisfied with the results. “You could say that the auroch has already been brought back to life in our test tubes,” said S³omski.
The project initially caused controversy and raised many ethical questions, particularly regarding cloning. However, the researchers insisted from the beginning that the project was primarily aimed at conducting wide-ranging genetic research on the auroch—using remains of these animals found in Poland.
The scientists say they want to explain the causes behind the auroch’s extinction, examine its relationship with contemporary indigenous breeds of cattle, and determine genetic and pathological changes. The reasons why the aurochs became extinct need to be examined carefully, they say, if only to avoid a similar problem with domestic cattle in the future.
The research undertaken by the Polish scientists fits into contemporary trends in research into ancient fossil DNA. Such studies have been conducted around the world over the past two decades. Russian and Japanese researchers, for example, have zeroed in on the mammoth, while their counterparts in Australia on the Tasmanian tiger.
For the time being, the quagga, an African animal that was similar to the zebra and became extinct over a century ago, is the first mammal reproduced by scientists nearly 150 years after its extinction. German researchers have already managed to rear the third and fourth generations of an animal that resembles the quagga. In the project, the researchers used genetic material from the quagga and the contemporary living zebra.
The ongoing research into the auroch’s DNA is expected to help advance genetic engineering and biotechnology. The project also aims to stimulate debate on the protection of animals threatened with extinction and on ways of staving off this process with the use of cloning.
Cloning of endangered species, called emergency cloning, has already worked several times. In 2001, scientists in Italy succeeded in recreating the European moufflon, which today lives in small flocks in Sardinia, Corsica and Cyprus. Scientists have also tried cloning in the case of rare species of wild cattle—American researchers have cloned the Asian gaur (Bos gaurus) and banteng (Bos javanicus).
King of the forest
The auroch (Bos primigenius) was one of the largest animals that ever lived in Europe. Its appearance and biology have been partially retraced thanks to extensive historical documentation, ancient and medieval records, drawings and analysis of bone material from excavations. An adult male auroch was up to 3 meters in length and 2 m in height at the withers, and weighed 800-1,000 kg. The auroch was an even-toed ungulate. Scientists believe that the animal was domesticated in Asia thousands of years ago and was the ancestor of most contemporary cattle species.
Among the causes behind the auroch’s extinction were hunting and poaching, a shrinking habitat due to the development of farming, climate changes and diseases transmitted by cattle.
Why did the Polish scientists decide to focus on the auroch? This animal is commonly associated with Poland. In the Middle Ages, it was a symbol of Polish forests and survived the longest here, according to historical sources. The extinction process began in the 10th century. First these animals disappeared from Western Europe—in the 10th century they died out in France, and in the late 11th and 12th centuries in Germany. By the 14th century they only survived in Poland’s Mazovia region. The auroch was under special protection of Polish kings who had the exclusive right to hunt these animals. Royal hunting inspectors were required to take special care of the disappearing flocks and submit regular reports on the status of the species. According to chroniclers, the last auroch died in 1627 in Jaktorowska Forest, west of Warsaw. Today, the world’s only monument to the auroch can be found there. Poland is where the largest number of auroch bones and horns have been preserved.
Cracking the code
The first stage of work aimed at cloning the extinct auroch involved isolating the animal’s DNA. This was done thanks to museum exhibits. The preserved bones of these animals held their DNA, which allowed the researchers to obtain the necessary genetic information. A group of molecular biologists from S³omski’s team in 2007 began to examine the DNA in auroch skulls and teeth found in archeological and zoological collections.
The next step was checking whether the acquired genetic information could be used in laboratory procedures. This ended in success as well. Currently, the researchers are in the process of sequencing the DNA, which means they are studying the DNA sequence in order to crack the auroch’s genetic code. The research team has sequenced quite a few segments of the DNA, including those originating from nuclei, which rarely happens in the case of extinct organisms, according to the scientists.
A further step will be to compare the genes of the auroch to those of other animals living today. At this stage the auroch’s genetic material will be introduced into a mouse and rabbit.
Bringing back extinct animals
In May 2010, Jastrzêbiec near Warsaw hosted the First International Conference on the Restoration of Endangered and Extinct Animals. The conference was organized by the three main Polish centers dealing with the reconstruction of the auroch: the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the Agricultural University of Poznañ, the Polish Foundation for Recreating the Auroch, and the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding.
At the conference, Polish scientists discussed the findings of their research on the auroch’s DNA and also brainstormed ways of preventing the extinction of endangered species including the use of cloning.
The conference attracted more than 100 scientists from both Polish and foreign research centers dealing with animals facing extinction, both wild and domesticated. Speakers included Prof. Eric H. Harley, who has been involved in the project for recreating the quagga; Prof. Pasqualino Loi, who talked about the somatic cloning of wild animals; and Prof. Alexei Tikhonov, who is involved in research into the mammoth.
In addition to conducting scientific research, members of the Polish Foundation for Recreating the Auroch try to educate the public. In 2008, a book entitled Czy tur powróci do polskich lasów (Will the Auroch Return to Polish Forests) was published by Ryszard S³omski, Miros³aw Ryba and Alexander M. Dzieduszycki. The book is a compendium of knowledge about the auroch.
www.warsawvoice.pl/WVpage/pages/article.php/23007/article
