Scientists have captured RNA from an extinct species, the Tasmanian tiger, for the first time, raising hopes for the resurrection of animals once thought lost forever, Stockholm University researchers told AFP.

“RNA has never before been isolated and sequenced from an extinct species,” said Love Dalen, professor of evolutionary genomics at Stockholm University, who led the project.

“Being able to recover RNA from extinct species is a small step towards possibly being able to revive extinct species in the future,” he said.

Dalen and his team were able to sequence RNA molecules from a 130-year-old Tasmanian tiger sample stored at room temperature in the Swedish Museum of Natural History.

In this way, they were able to reconstruct the RNA of the skin and skeletal muscles.

RNA is a molecule used to transfer information from the genome to the rest of the cell about what it should do.

“If you’re going to resurrect an extinct animal, you need to know where the genes are, what they do, and in what tissues they’re regulated,” Dahlen said, explaining the need for both DNA and RNA information.

The last known living Tasmanian tiger or thylacine, a carnivorous marsupial, died in captivity at Tasmania’s Beaumaris Zoo in 1936.

After the European colonization of Australia, the animal was declared a pest and in 1888 a bounty was offered for every adult animal killed. Scientists have focused on stopping the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger, as its natural habitat in Tasmania is largely protected.

“An exciting idea”

Daniela Kalthoff, head of the Natural History Museum’s mammal collection, said the idea of ​​a possible resurrection of the Tasmanian tiger was an “exciting idea”.

“This is a wonderful animal and I would love to see it alive again,” he said, pointing to the black and brown striped skin the researchers used in their study.

Their findings also have implications for the study of pandemic RNA viruses.

“Many pandemics in the past have been caused by RNA viruses, most recently coronavirus and also Spanish flu,” Dahlen explained.

“We can actually look for these viruses in the remains of wild animals stored in dry museum collections. This can help us understand the nature of pandemics and where pandemics come from,” he said.

The research opens the door to such a new use of museum collections.

“There are millions and millions of dried skins and dried tissues of insects, mammals, birds, etc., in museum collections around the world, and now one can go and extract RNA from all of those samples,” Dahlen said. Source