Woolly mammoth DNA has been woven into the genetic code of modern elephants for the first time ever, in an effort to save the contemporary animals from extinction.
Harvard University researchers spliced genetic code of the ancient extinct animals into 14 separate sections of DNA belonging to modern elephants. By doing so, the mutated DNA codes for many of the distinctive features of mammoths, including thick fur, extra fat, smaller ears, and a tolerance for cold conditions.
Mammoths went extinct 3,000 years ago, but frozen specimens of the animals have been found well-preserved in ice, allowing the extraction of DNA.
The closest relative of the woolly mammoth is the Asian elephant, a species that is facing increasing pressure as they interact with human beings. This research was aimed at protecting the species by allowing them to live in colder climates, far away from dense human habitations.
"Elephants are currently in danger as they overlap with human populations. If they could be readapted to places of minus 50 degrees centigrade, where there is low human density, they would stand a higher chance of survival," George Church, professor of genetics at Harvard University, said.
The Harvard Woolly Mammoth Revival hopes to develop new forms of the Asian elephant that could repopulate the frozen tundras of Asia and North America.
The reintroduction of these large mammals into the tundra could even help offset global climate change, researchers reported. Grasslands in Asia were once home to vast numbers of mammoths, along with deer, antelope, and horses, until the animals disappeared at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch. This lack of large grazers resulted in the grassland converting into tundra.
"Without grasslands to insulate the tundra's permafrost, the permafrost is melting, releasing greenhouse gases that have been trapped for tens and hundreds of thousands of years. The melting of the world's permafrost is equivalent to burning all the world's forests 2-½ times," researchers with the Woolly Mammoth Revival project said.
Grasslands would be able to sequester atmospheric carbon produced by vehicles and factories, as well as insulate the ground, slowing melting of permafrost. Biodiversity would also likely increase in regions where mutated elephants roam, as plants and animals take advantage of the new grasslands.
Species revival, commonly known as de-extinction, is now possible, offering scientists the opportunity to bring extinct species, including woolly mammoths, back into existence. In the 1993 film Jurassic Park, dinosaurs were brought back to life using DNA from the long-extinct animals trapped in insects within amber. In the real world, DNA starts to quickly decay, leaving little chance of ever reviving such an ancient species. However, woolly mammoths are much more recent, and nearly entire carcasses have been found preserved in ice, providing an ideal genetic resource.
Woolly mammoths may just turn out to be the next big thing on the tundra, and they could help save the planet.
Photo: Rob Pongsajapan | Flickr
