Science is one step away from achieving a revolutionary feat for extinct species on Earth.
Researchers recovered Tasmanian tiger RNA by collecting genetic material found in muscles and skin that had been stored in a museum since 1891.
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One of the main objectives of the current research was to understand the genes and genetic complements of this animal.
But the study paves the way for other species, animals and plants, to be analyzed and recreated by science in the future.
O tasmanian tiger, known as “thylacine”, lived on the Island of Tasmania, in southeastern Australia and was considered a carnivorous marsupial.
The last living individual was bred in captivity and died in 1936, making the mammal officially extinct.
However, remains of another specimen of this animal had been stored since 1891, at the Natural History Museum in Stockholm.
Through the preserved thylacine “corpse”, researchers collected three samples of the material marsupial genetics, in order to recover information about genes and proteins from the marsupial's cells and tissues. mammal.
“RNA sequencing gives an idea of the true biology and regulation of metabolism that took place in the cells and tissues of Tasmanian tigers before they became extinct,” explained Emilio Mármol Sánchez, researcher at the Center for Paleogenetics and SciLifeLab in Sweden and research leader.
(Image: Emilio Mármol Sánchez/Reuters/Reproduction)
Despite this feat, the collection of RNA from a extinct species It was a challenge, since this material, responsible for protein production, is less stable and can easily decompose into fragments.
According to geneticist Marc Friedländer, RNA can be destroyed within minutes outside living cells. Therefore, it was a historic feat to be able to collect the material from the specimen that was in the museum.
“It was surprising that we found these authentic RNA sequences in this mummified Tasmanian tiger,” said Friedländer, researcher and author of the study.
In total, 223.6 million RNA fragments were extracted from the Tasmanian tiger. But after analysis, they obtained 1.5 million RNA sequences from muscle tissue and 2.8 million from skin.
Such separation between tissues was important to observe variations in gene expression.
For example, the muscle had 236 corresponding genes, while the skin sample had 270 genes in the RNA sequences. Among them was important genetic information about the structural protein keratin.
Likewise, the samples revealed the presence of an ancient virus that infected the animal, which also contributes to scientific studies on extinct species.
The data recovered from this extinct marsupial is primarily used to study the RNA and characteristics of the Tasmanian tiger itself. However, the results could also be used for efforts related to other extinct animals.
