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Cloning Endangered or Extinct Species

Sasikanth Kancherla. Cloning Endangered or Extinct Species. Background. 1996- Dolly, cloning has been an ethical issue ever since. Animal cloning has been made possible, but still very temperamental. 277 attempts to clone a sheep

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Cloning Endangered or Extinct Species

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  1. SasikanthKancherla Cloning Endangered or Extinct Species

  2. Background • 1996- Dolly, cloning has been an ethical issue ever since. • Animal cloning has been made possible, but still very temperamental. • 277 attempts to clone a sheep • It is possible to recreate an organism simply from its DNA and a surrogate.

  3. Why? • In recent years the list of endangered species has been growing. • Each year thousands of species are wiped off the Earth forever. • We are on the verge of facing the sixth great extinction. • Who wouldn’t want to bring back the majestic Dodo bird?

  4. How? • Nuclear Transfer • Obtain sample DNA • Recreate the genome • Transfer DNA • Develop eggs • Implant the embryos • Deliver the cloned organism

  5. Challenges • A surrogate may be rare or impossible to find. • Obtaining the complete DNA from an extinct species is nearly impossible if it is not obtained before its extinction. • It is too dangerous to risk the lives of endangered animals in experimentation.

  6. Pros • We can maintain the species diversity of the Earth. • Cloning can become more cost effective than trying to preserve an endangered species. • Being able to better understand the “missing links” in the fossil record will better enable us to understand human physiology as well. • Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs are awesome!!!

  7. Cons • Reduces genetic diversity. (Founder’s Effect) • Greater chance for genetic defects. • Some species are no longer adapted to survive, with or without human intervention. • We many reintroduce invasive species. • Some believe that the cloning of endangered animals would enable us to continue with habitat destruction without repercussions. • Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs will eat us all!!!

  8. Cloning Gaur • Advanced Cell Technology successfully cloned a male Gaur. • In 2001, a female domestic cow gave birth to a male gaur. • The first example of cloning an endangered species, and cloning an animal with a surrogate from another species.

  9. What does this mean? • The potential to rejuvenate endangered populations is now possible. • Noah, the cloned Gaur, died after two days. • The return of the Gaur to southeast Asia will preserve the fragile biological diversity existing in the region.

  10. Cloning an Extinct Species • The Pyrenean ibex went extinct in 2000. • Shortly before extinction, skin cells from the ibex were preserved. • After 57 attempts the Pyrenean ibex was successfully cloned. • The baby ibex died shortly after birth. • Another attempt is underway.

  11. Drawbacks • Expensive… for now. • 2% success rate in the Gaur experiment. • Lower life expectancy than a natural born Gaur. • Is yet to be successfully raised to adulthood.

  12. Opinion • It is essential that we continue work on the cloning of endangered species. • Several individuals of a species should be cloned to ensure genetic diversity. • Legislation for the continued protection of endangered habitats and species should not be repealed because of the advent of cloning.

  13. Opinion (cont.) • DNA from endangered species should be saved for possible future cloning • There are too many unknown factors involved with the cloning of endangered species. • It is unknown how they will impact the world’s ecosystems. • It is unethical to bring back an animal that is ill equipped to adapt to today’s world.

  14. Work Cited • Choi, Charles Q. "First Extinct-Animal Clone Created." National Geographic, 10 Feb. 2009. Web. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090210-bucardo-clone.html>. • "Why Clone?." Learn. Genetics. The University of Utah, 2010. Web. 1 June 2010. <http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/cloning/whyclone/>. • "Ethics of Cloning." Oracle Think Quest, n.d. Web. 2 June 2010. <http://library.thinkquest.org/20830/Manipulating/Ethics/cloning.htm>. • "Jurassic Park for Real? - Cloning Extinct Animals ." Squidoo, n.d. Web. 1 June 2010. <http://www.squidoo.com/cloning>. • Gray, Richard, and Roger Dobson. "Extinct ibex is resurrected by cloning." Telegraph 31 Jan. 2009 [UK] . Web. 1 June 2010. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/4409958/Extinct-ibex-is-resurrected-by-cloning.html>. • “Human genome Project Information”. U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, 11 May 2009. Web. 1 June 2010. <http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml>. • Henderson, Catherine. The Pros & Cons of Cloning. eHow, n.d. Web. 1 June 2010. <http://www.ehow.com/about_5453902_pros-cons-cloning.html>.

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