Valery Plotnikov (left) of the Sakha Republic Academy of Sciences in Yakutsk, Russia, and Daniel Fisher of the University of Michigan examine a woolly mammoth unearthed during a 2018 expedition.
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Scientists have recreated the 3D structure of a mammoth’s genetic blueprint.
The results achieved are: Thursday’s Cell magazineThis is believed to be the first time scientists have been able to create a multi-dimensional version of the genome of a complex extinct species.
The advance should provide important new insights into the biology of a creature that has long intrigued people, and the work could also aid efforts to breed living versions of the animal, the researchers say.
“I’m very excited,” he said. Erez Lieberman Aiden“We think it’s going to be extremely valuable,” said Matthew L. Gregg, professor of molecular and human genetics and director of the Center for Genome Architecture at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
For many years, scientists have been able to peer into the past by analyzing ancient DNA fragments recovered from bones, fossilized teeth, mummies, and even hair.
“In biology, one of the most powerful tools we have for understanding the history of life on this planet is ancient DNA,” Aiden said. “It’s an incredibly powerful tool for understanding the history of life.”
But there’s only so much scientists can learn from a single fragment of DNA, so Aiden and his colleagues have launched an international effort to reconstruct the three-dimensional structure of DNA, including the chromosomes, of extinct organisms.
“This will allow us to see exactly how chromosomes are shaped in living cells, which will give us a better understanding of ancient or extinct genomes and how those genomes work — which genes are on and which are off in particular tissues,” Aiden says.
Find mammoth specimens on eBay
Scientists focused on mammoths, a type of large, hairy elephant that roamed the tundra thousands of years ago.
“Initially, we had an embarrassingly bad idea. It’s a little embarrassing to admit,” Aiden told NPR. “We said, ‘Oh, you know, there’s this great-looking mammoth bone on eBay. Let’s have a go.’ It’s a little embarrassing to say that, because eBay is not the best place to get mammoth samples.”
After a five-year search, the team finally found a well-preserved mammoth specimen: the skin behind the ear of a 52,000-year-old female mammoth that was discovered freeze-dried in Siberia in 2018.
“It was a piece of mammoth hide, and, as you know, it had hair on it. It was, as the name suggests, mammoth fur,” says Olga Dudchenko, an assistant professor at Baylor University’s Center for Genome Architecture, who worked on the study. “And that’s actually not such a trivial thing, because hair is often lost. So this mammoth hide had hair on it. And that in itself is an interesting indicator that this is a pretty good quality sample. And that’s what immediately caught our attention.”
Scientists could study individual mammoth genes
In fact, the quality of the samples allowed the team to extract DNA, A technology called Hi-C Researchers have announced that they have reconstructed the three-dimensional structure of 28 chromosomes, representing the entire genome of the extinct woolly mammoth.
“Just as we were excited 25 years ago about assembling our own genome for the first time, we’ve now been able to assemble the genome of the mammoth,” Aiden says, “and now we can assemble the genome of an animal that is long extinct. This is clearly a milestone.”
Not only that, but the team was able to dig into the genome and begin to learn what individual genes did.
“It’s really exciting to be able to look at an extinct organism and say, ‘Oh, yes, this gene was on. That gene was on. This gene was off. Wow, amazing,'” Aiden says. “It’s exciting to be able to do all these specific things with the mammoth.”
In fact, by comparing the mammoth genome with the DNA of modern elephants, scientists have already been able to determine why mammoths Wool-like.
“We’re debating internally whether we should start a hair club for mammoths,” Dudchekno jokes.
Genetic discovery could aid mammoth resurrection efforts
But seriously, the insight might be useful. There are already efforts underway to bring one species of mammoth back from extinction. — Modern Asian elephants could even be given mammoth characteristics, such as hairiness, and then released to graze on the tundra again.
“We think this will help bring back extinct species,” Aiden says.
Other scientists also praised the study.
“I think it’s really cool.” Vincent LynchHe is an associate professor of biological sciences at the University at Buffalo and was not involved in the study.
But Lynch isn’t in favor of trying to resurrect mammoths: the unintended consequences could be disastrous, he says, and the money spent on such a project would be much better spent saving the elephants that still roam the earth.
“There’s a lot of potential for unintended consequences,” Lynch says. “Think about all the other invasive species that exist around the world. You don’t know what impact an invasive species is going to have on the environment until it gets there.”
and Karl FressaA professor of geological sciences at the University of Arizona agrees with the scientific achievement and the folly of attempting to resurrect the extinct pachyderm.
“Preserving the genetic makeup of the mammoth is truly a wonderful thing,” Fressa says, “but just because we can do it doesn’t mean we should. A genetically modified Asian elephant is not a mammoth, and releasing such an animal into the wild would be arrogant and irresponsible.”
Others disagree.
“It’s exciting to see 3D structures preserved in ancient samples, which helps us get closer to a complete new assembly of the mammoth genome and may reveal genomic features that may be relevant to the mammoth’s extinction return.” Eliana HisoriLeading a project to create an Asian elephant with mammoth characteristics Colossal Laboratories & Biosciences “It’s a very personal story,” the Dallas resident told NPR in an email.
still, Robert Fleischera senior scientist at the Center for Conservation Genomics at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Institute in Washington, says the prospect is exciting.
“If I was 12 years old taking a middle school science class, I would have thought this was pretty amazing,” Fleischer said, “and I still think it’s pretty amazing.”
