The wonders of New technology mean that scientists are able to make clones of live thing using a range of outgrowth . The end result is a specimen that is the accurate replication of the biological entity it was create from , sharing its genetic computer code to the letter . In the past tense , scientists have cloned everything from cell and tissue to entire complex organism likeDolly the sheep .
Theconservation projectis a collaboration between the US Fish and Wildlife Service and scientists at Revive & Restore , ViaGen Pets & Equine , San Diego Zoo Global , and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums . It aims to defeat genetic obstacles currently hampering efforts to restore the population ofBlack - footed ferrets , whose future is at risk if there is n’t enough genetic diversity left in the puddle of survivors . exposit the gene pool with a knockoff from a deceased animal reduces the jeopardy ofinbreeding - associated health problems which are often seen in “ pure - bred ” bounder or offspring behave from incest , which usually only happens among mammalian when there are no other mates to choose from .
It might sound like something off a Sci - Fi movie Seth , but when you consider that all existing Black - foot ferrets are descended from just seven individuals , it starts to make sense . Willa , the animal Elizabeth Ann was created from , was pick out as she was one of the last Black - leg it ferrets caught in the state of nature . Crucially , her stock sits outside of the seven “ founding black-footed ferret ” of the world ’s stay smuggled - leg it ferrets , so Willa ’s deoxyribonucleic acid represented a big chance to return some diversity to the Black - footed Mustela nigripes cistron pocket billiards .
Cloning alone wo n’t revive the species , but the aim is to grow the project in tandem with on-going efforts to stabilise wild population by restoring and increasing suitable habitats for these animals .
“ The Service sought the expertise of valued retrieval partner to help us explore how we might whelm familial limitations strangle convalescence of the black - foot up Mustela nigripes , and we ’re proud to make this announcement today , ” aver Noreen Walsh in a press release emailed to IFLScience . Walsh is Director of the Service ’s Mountain - Prairie Region , where the Service ’s National Black - foot Ferret Conservation Center is located . “ Although this research is preliminary , it is the first cloning of a aboriginal endangered species in North America , and it provides a promising shaft for cover efforts to conserve the black - footed ferret . ”
