The expert spoke about research on the revival of extinct animals.
Mammoths appear as the first candidate for the "resurrection". Humanity has certain moral obligations to them. Yet this is the first species of animals that were exterminated by people. And it would be symbolic if it was the mammoths that man first of all returned from oblivion, thus redeeming his guilt.
Would you like to resurrect the dog?
This is not so fantastic as it might seem at first glance. Animal cloning is now on stream, this technology is widely used in different countries, for example, for breeding service dogs with elite working qualities. And cloning deceased pets is a commercial service offered by biotech companies to inconsolable owners. In particular, Korean Sooam Biotech has created about 1000 copies of dogs over the past 10 years. The cost of such a "resurrection" is from 100 thousand dollars. Biotechnologists guarantee the result if no more than 5 days have passed since the death of a pet and before the collection of genetic material.
Of course, in the case of the mammoth, much more time has passed. The last population of these animals lived on Wrangel Island 3500 thousand years ago (by this time the Cheops pyramid was 1000 years old). But if you find a living mammoth cell, then further, as they say, is a matter of technology.
Recently, a group of Japanese and Yakut researchers reported on the results of a unique experiment. Scientists have extracted 88 nuclei from the muscle cells of the mammoth Yuki, who died 28 thousand years ago in the north of Yakutia, and transplanted into the eggs of mice. No, no one was going to cross a mouse and a hairy elephant! Simply laboratory mice are a convenient model to test the viability of proteins from mammoth cells. Five of them showed "signs of biological activity", but the process of cell division was not started. We asked Doctor of Biological Sciences Albert Protopopov, head of the Department for the Study of Mammoth Fauna of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), to comment on the results of the experiment.
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Something went wrong…
Albert Vasilievich, is this good or bad news? On the one hand, the cells “came to life”, on the other, something went wrong …
- In any case, the experiment on the extraction of DNA from the cells of the mammoth Yuka, which we conducted together with colleagues from Kindai University, is a demonstration of the incredible possibilities of modern biology. It was possible to launch complex biological molecules of an organism that died tens of thousands of years ago! Albeit temporarily, but intranuclear proteins called histones, which are responsible for packing DNA strands in chromosomes, have started working. This is a great achievement. But, firstly, proteins are much shorter than DNA in length, and secondly, even proteins were damaged. And we are a little upset, because the experiment proved that the classical cloning, which we dreamed of 10-15 years ago, turned out to be impossible. Unless, of course, we can find intact DNA. But the chances are not great.
But in fact, many interesting finds have recently been discovered in Yakutia: Yuka, the Malolyakhovsky mammoth, and so on. Perhaps there is hope of finding a better preserved specimen?
- Today, the champion in safety is the mammoth Yuka. It was the proteins from his cells that "worked". Moreover, Yuuki's brain is preserved. The world's only mammoth brain! We have not yet seen a higher degree of preservation from anyone. Find samples of mammoth tissue that contain living cells in the permafrost? I think that the probability of such a find tends to zero.
Who is Mamoslon?
There are several projects on cloning a mammoth: in addition to Japanese scientists from Kindai University, Korean Sooam Biotech is engaged in this, as well as Harvard University, which plans to create a hybrid of an elephant and a mammoth. Which one is more realistic?
- It seems to me that the Harvard project has a better chance of success. Last year, George Church and I (an American molecular engineer who is going to insert fragments of mammoth nuclear DNA into the DNA of an Indian elephant - Ed) signed a contract for the supply of biomaterials, similar to the one we have with our Japanese colleagues. We must try to go to the result in different ways.
The chances of cloning a mammoth are still small. If these projects do not succeed, what benefit will they bring to science?
- New biotechnologies will be developed, which may have the most unexpected practical applications. We can learn something new about the evolution of mammoths, which are indicators of global climate change that took place 10-12 thousand years ago. This is especially important in light of today's climate change.
If not a mammoth, then what animals that have become extinct not so long ago have, in your opinion, chances for a second life thanks to cloning methods?
- It seems to me that cave lions are the most realistic candidate for "revitalization". They are not far from the genetics of modern African lions. Mammoths and elephants are still too far apart in the course of evolution and it will be more difficult to revive mammoths. Several years ago, in Yakutia, cave lion cubs were found in an ideal state of preservation. One of them lived for about 2 months. Two others died at birth, apparently they were covered with soil when they were 1-2 days old. "Reviving" them would be a very interesting task.
FROM THE DOSSIER
Who is the mammoth Yuka
Mammoth Yuka is an 8-9 year old female, was discovered in 2010. The height at the withers is 165 cm. Her weight during her lifetime could reach 450-550 kilograms, and the weight of the remains today is only 109 kg. Named after the granddaughter of the head of the Yukagir community, Vasily Gorokhov - he is considered the author of the find. Scientists believe that the baby mammoth probably fell prey to primitive hunters. On Yuki's carcass, artificial incisions were found: a long longitudinal incision along the back from the sacrum to the head, as well as a wound on the right side. Probably, the hunters took the meat and fat from the back, and the internal organs became their prey. Yuka lived 28 thousand years ago.
YAROSLAV KOROBATOV
