A few days ago, when scientists inched
closer to reviving an Australian frog species that has been extinct for
the last 30 years, they also revived the world’s fascination for
De-extinction – a concept that walks the thin line between science
fiction and reality. Bringing to life species that have been wiped off
the face of earth is a dream many geneticists have pursued for years.
“If
India were to aggressively pursue it, there are at least three extinct
species that can get a shot at coming back for the dead” says Sandeep
Sharma of the Washington based Smithsonian Conservation Biology
Institute.
“High on the list is the
Asiatic Cheetah that went extinction in India soon after Independence.
The others are the pink-headed duck and the maintain quail. There are a
few pre-historic species, too, but then it might get too ambitious.”
Indian
geneticists have been attempting to clone the Asiatic Cheetah – a
favorite animal of the Mughal emperor Akbar who reportedly has an army
of 1000 cheetahs accompany him on his hunting expeditions. But efforts
to recreate the majestic predator have encountered several roadblocks.
“The biggest hurdle is procuring the cell-line of the cheetah and
defining protocols for somatic cell transfer. Once this happens, we have
a realistic chance of reviving the cheetah in India,” says S Shivaji of
the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hydrabad.
Somatic
cell transfer involves creating a clone embryo with a donor nucleus in a
laboratory and is considered as the first step in reproductive cloning.
India has recently imported a few cheetahs whose cell lines, says
Shivaji, CCMB is trying to get. After that, it would be a case of
attempting again and again – success rates in reproductive cloning are
just about 5% till an Asiatic cheetah cub is born.
Nobody
knows when this might happen. “We are still not sure what factors
combine together to create the 5% success rate,” says Shivaji.
De-extinction
itself is a subject that has drawn diverse opinions. Those opposing it
says that is a species went extinct over a period of time – Darwin’s
theory of survival of the fittest propounds this is nature’s way of
balancing itself – is it prudent to re-introduce it in an ecosystem
where some other species may have taken over it role? Ulhas Karanth of
Wildlife Conservation Society says it makes no sense at all.
“De-extinction is unlikely to work because factors that caused the
original extinction continue to operate”.
However,
De-extinction proponents continue to be gung-ho about its prospects.
“It should not be an either/or question,” says Ryan Phelan, executive
director of Us NGO Revive & Restore which recently organized a much
publicized conference on the subject along with National Geographic and
TED. “It’s really an all one continuum. What’s good for extinct species
will be great for endangered ones”.
If man does succeed in playing god, it might just be Jurassic Park all over again, hopefully minus the horror.
Courtesy: - Times of India.
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