Scientists create "test-tube rhinoceros" in hopes of saving dying species

ITALY – Scientists have used in vitro fertilization techniques to develop hybrid rhinoceros embryos – "test-tube rhinos" – that could help save According to a new study, the team was also able to extract stem cell lines of southern white rhinoceros embryos a subspecies closely related to Northern white rhinos, which could be used. to make reproductive cells such as eggs and spermatozoa to create embryos.

These techniques could become a valuable tool in the conservation of rhinoceros populations, according to research published Wednesday the journal Nature Communications. ] "This shows for the first time that modern technology can offer conservation options when the situation becomes very bad, when species become endangered, such as the case of the northern white rhinoceros". said Cesare Galli, who works at Avantea's Reproductive Technology Lab and was one of the authors of the report.

The northern white rhino is the most endangered mammal in the world. Sudan, the last male of the northern white rhino – once called the "most eligible single in the world" by the Tinder dating app – died in March. This leaves only two females, Najin and Fatu, to represent the subspecies,

Over the last two decades, attempts to establish a sustainable population of Northern White Rhinos – including breeding programs natural and artificial insemination – have failed. Jan Stejskal, director of communication and international projects at the Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic, who participated in the study.

Recent efforts to repopulate the white rhinoceros have been hampered by the fact that Najin and Fatu are infertile. According to the researchers, badisted reproductive technologies used on equines could also be transferred to northern white rhinos to boost their reproductive capacity, according to the study.

According to Galli, pregnancy occurred in 50% of cases

. use southern white rhinoceros eggs from different females in European zoos with previously frozen northern white rhinoceros spermatozoa, creating hybrid embryos. The procedure had never been attempted in northern and southern white rhinos, according to the study.

The embryos were frozen for possible implantation.

"What we did is very similar to what is done to couples with fertility problems," said Galli. "We made a test tube rhinoceros."

Embryo transfer – or the use of a surrogate – has never been accomplished in rhinos, according to Roth. Nevertheless, if successful, the goal is to create a hybrid rhino population – the white and southern rhinos.

Several generations of intensive crosses would dilute the genes of the southern white rhinoceros, "bringing us to the point where a 99% northern white rhino has ," says Terri Roth, vice president of conservation and conservation. science and director of CREW at the Zoo and Botanical Garden in Cincinnati, who did not participate in the study. The extraction of stem cell lines from southern white rhinoceros embryos was another result of the research, according to the study.

By Creating Southern White Rhinoceros Embryonic Stem Cell Lines, Scientists have demonstrated what Roth calls "proof of concept", which means that if you could achieve this result with a Southern White Rhinoceros, you could ostensibly get a similar result in the Northern White Rhinoceros.

eating that, in theory, would allow the research team to produce sperm and eggs from the cells, which could then be used to create white rhinoceros embryos, according to Roth.

In the future, they also hope to use frozen cutaneous cells taken from 13 northern white rhinos to create induced pluripotent stem cells. These cells are adult cells, such as blood or skin cells, that are reprogrammed to act as stem cells. We can deduce sperm and eggs, which can in turn be used to create the embryo.

Embryos could then be implanted in a surrogate, probably a southern white rhino, to produce a northern white rhinoceros. 19659004] "The beauty of this is that we have a southern white rhino that is very closely related to the northern white rhinoceros, and it is very likely that a southern white rhino could carry a northern white embryo eventually , "Roth. However, because of the complexity of creating pure Northern Rhino embryos, Galli estimates that it will take ten years to achieve

The Future of Conservation

So as more and more species disappear, a conservation mechanism has been brought to light

. Many scientists see these technologies as a valuable tool for restocking endangered species. Artificial insemination – a technique of badisted procreation – was used to produce offspring with 60 mammals, including the giant panda, the black-footed ferret and the Asian elephant, and 35 non-native birds. servants.

Yet Assisted Reproduction It is still rare, according to an article co-authored by Roth, to have encountered much resistance within the animal conservation community.

For Galli, just use the best tools at your disposal. [19659004] "Many people working in conservation are strongly against the use of biotechnology, which sounds crazy, because if you have technology, why not use it for the sake?", A he said.

According to Roth, technology is not a panacea for wildlife conservation, but it could offer promising alternatives for conservation efforts. "We can save rhinos with science and then become more complacent about the other strategies we have in action now," Roth said.

Roth does not believe that one size fits all. Rather, it advocates multiple strategies – including forest conservation, natural breeding programs, the use of rangers to protect themselves from poaching and badisted reproductive technologies – to be used for wildlife conservation. says:

"It is very unfortunate that we are in this situation.I think that there is one thing we should learn from this, that is that we should not allow cash to arrive at a state so critical that these high-tech approaches are the only way to save one's genes. "