On Aug. 6, the world's first cloned Przewalski horse was born, giving hope to conservationists of the endangered breed. To create the colt, scientists used genetic material that had been cryopreserved 40 years ago at the San Diego Zoo Global (SDZG) Frozen Zoo.
“Kurt” was born to a domestic surrogate mother. His birth revives genetic diversity that was believed to have been lost decades ago. Dr. Bob Wiese, chief life sciences officer at San Diego Zoo Global, is hopeful that the colt will bring back genetic variation imperative for the future survival of the Przewalski breed.
The Przewalski horse is a wild horse breed from the steppes of central Asia; native populations declined dramatically after World War II because of hunting, severe winters and competition with livestock. The last sighting of a wild Przewalski horse was in 1969.
A captive breeding program was begun in 1899 and included 12 horses; these 12 animals were the foundation for the nearly 2,000 Przewalski horses alive today. However, with such low genetic diversity, these 2,000 individuals are less able to adapt to environmental changes or stressors, and are at risk of inbreeding, which can result in a plethora of unwanted traits.
“Kuporovic” was a captive bred Przewalski horse with a genome that had ancestry to two wild horse founders. Because he had so much genetic variation, scientists preserved his genome in the San Diego Zoo's Frozen Zoo in 1980.
The Zoo partnered with wildlife conservation group Revive & Restore and pet cloning company ViaGen Equine to produce Kurt, who is Kuporovic's exact genetic replica. The tiny foal represents long-term viability of preserved genetic material, offering hope for the survival of all endangered species.
Read more at Science Alert.
The post Foal Cloned From 40-Year-Old Genetic Material Offers Hope For Endangered Species appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
