Scientists have announced the first successful cloning of an American endangered species: a black-footed ferret.
The animal, named Elizabeth Ann, was born on December 10 and announced Thursday. Willa, the ferret that served as a genetic source for Elizabeth Ann, died in 1988 and remained frozen while cloning research was just underway.
The success gives conservationists hope to see other species returned to the wild, although the process requires patience. The process required the use of a tame domestic ferret, and a second clone did not survive.
In this photo presented by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Elizabeth Ann, the first cloned black-footed ferret and first-time cloned U.S. endangered species, was 50 days old on January 29, 2021. Scientists have identified the first U.S. endangered species. species cloned. , a black-footed ferret that has been duplicated from the genes of an animal that died more than 30 years ago. They hope that the sneaky predator named Elizabeth Ann and her offspring will improve the genetic diversity of a species previously thought to be bred but captured in captivity and successfully reintroduced. (US Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)
Other species that could benefit from cloning include a Mongolian wild horse, which was cloned and born in a Texas building last summer, and the extinct passenger pigeon.
“Biotechnology and genomic data can really make a difference in the field with conservation efforts,” said Ben Novak, chief scientist at Revive & Restore, a biotechnology-focused conservation organization that coordinated ferret and horse cloning.
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Black-footed ferrets are a type of weasel that can be easily identified by dark objects such as a robber mask. Charismatic and nocturnal, they feed exclusively on prairie dogs while living amidst the vast hollow colonies of rodents.
However, the lack of genetic diversity is a source of concern for scientists: genetic similarity will make the new ferrets potentially susceptible to intestinal parasites and diseases such as silkworm.
In this photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Elizabeth Ann, the first cloned black-footed ferret and first-cloned American endangered species, is 48 days old on January 27, 2021. Scientists have cloned the first American endangered species. , a black-footed ferret that has been duplicated from the genes of an animal that died more than 30 years ago. They hope that the sneaking predator named Elizabeth Ann and her offspring will improve the genetic diversity of a species ever thought of, but bred in captivity and successfully reintroduced. (US Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)
When Willa dies, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department sends her tissues to a “frozen zoo” run by San Diego Zoo Global, which maintains cells of more than 1,100 species and subspecies worldwide. Eventually, scientists could modify these genes to help cloned animals survive.
“With these cloning techniques, you can basically freeze time and regenerate those cells,” Gober said. “We are far from tampering with the genome to give genetic resistance, but it is a possibility in the future.”
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A fish and wildlife service facility for black-footed breeding in Fort Collins, Colo, cares for Elizabeth Ann.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.