‘Reviving’ the Extinct Tasmanian Tiger, IPB University’s Ecological Genetics Expert Says This
The discovery of a Tasmanian tiger head specimen preserved in alcohol and stored in a bucket for 108 years at a museum in Melbourne, Australia, has shocked the world. The incident also opened a wide road to ‘revive’ the extinct Tasmanian tiger.
According to Prof Ronny Rachman Noor, Ecological Genetics Expert at IPB University, the Tasmanian tiger with the Latin name Thylacinus cynocephalus, was last recorded dead in 1936 after going through a phase of hunting and human greed hundreds of years earlier. The animal was then officially declared extinct in the 1980s.
“The extinction of carnivorous predators has left conservationists both grieving and despairing. The Tasmanian tiger has played an important role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem in Tasmania for thousands of years because it was the apex marsupial predator,” said Prof Ronny.
He added, “The Tasmanian tiger used to live across the continent. However, over time, the population dwindled and eventually concentrated in Tasmania around 3.000 years ago.”
According to the lecturer at IPB University’s Faculty of Animal Science, the Tasmanian tiger’s physical appearance is unique. Its posture resembles a dog with striking lines on its back. With this unique appearance, this wild animal was hunted in the era of white people who came from Europe to colonize Australia.
He also thinks that the discovery of this intact Tasmanian tiger head specimen opens up a wide avenue for scientists. Using DNA technology, scientists can reconstruct its genome. This involves piecing together most of its DNA sequence, as well as strands of RNA (a molecule structurally similar to DNA but with only one strand) that show which genes were active in different tissues when the animal died.
“Genomes are key to ‘bringing back to life’ extinct wildlife because they provide a complete blueprint that makes it possible to reconstruct them,” he explains.
The researchers involved in bringing the Tasmanian tiger back to life said that the genome that has been successfully assembled to date has reached three billion nucleotide base pairs. However, Prof Ronny said, this reconstruction is still not complete because there are still around 45 DNA sequences that are still not connected.
“It is hoped that in the next few months this complicated work can be completed,” said the Professor of Animal Production and Technology at IPB University.
“If later the Tasmanian tiger blueprint is successfully reconstructed, then continued using reproductive technology, it is hoped that this extinct wildlife can be ‘revived’,” said Prof Ronny.
The professor in the field of livestock breeding and genetics said that the work of these researchers in reconstructing the Tasmanian tiger genome was not easy. This is because, he said, the researchers had to deal with RNA, which is much more unstable than DNA.
“It’s worth noting that RNA varies in different types of tissue and contains what is effectively the active gene readout needed for a particular tissue to function. This means that researchers can obtain information related to the function of various organs,” he explains.
“In addition, for comparison, the researchers will also take stem cells from a living relative of the Tasmanian tiger that has DNA similar to that of the extinct wildlife to edit its genes as a reference to predict the cells of the Tasmanian tiger,” he added.
After this genome reconstruction is complete, the next step taken by the researchers is to develop artificial reproduction technology by inducing ovulation in marsupials and fertilizing single-cell embryos. Then, they will develop it in an artificial womb.
“It is estimated that these researchers will succeed in ‘reviving’ the extinct Tasmanian tiger in the next 3-5 years,” explained Prof. Ronny. However, according to him, what these researchers will produce will not necessarily be exactly the same as the extinct Tasmanian tiger.
“If the efforts of this international group of researchers are successful, it will be a new milestone in the history of scientific development and open the door to revive other extinct wildlife,” said Prof Ronny.
According to Prof Ronny, one thing that needs to be considered carefully is the impact on the ecosystem if the effort to ‘revive’ the Tasmanian tiger is successful and released in nature. Because, he said, the behavior and existence in nature cannot be predicted for good and bad impacts because the ecosystem certainly needs balance.
“It needs to be carefully considered that ‘reviving’ extinct wildlife does not only involve genetic and reproductive challenges. It is also an ecological challenge if the revived wildlife is released into the wild,” he explained.
In addition, he added, it is also necessary to make systematic conservation efforts so that rare animals that are currently alive and endangered can be preserved and kept from extinction. (*/Rz) (IAAS/RUM)
