Breakthrough: Scientists recover RNA from an extinct species for the first time

Scientists have recovered Ribonucleic acid (RNA) from an extinct species, the Tasmanian tiger, for the first time, raising hope for the resuscitation of animals considered to be extinct forever, according to Stockholm University researchers.

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

Scientists were successful in sequencing RNA molecules from a 130-year-old Tasmanian tiger specimen kept at room temperature

“The ability to recover RNA from extinct species constitutes a small step (toward) maybe being able to resurrect extinct species in the future,” he said.

Dalen and his colleagues were successful in sequencing RNA molecules from a 130-year-old Tasmanian tiger specimen kept at room temperature in Sweden’s Museum of Natural History.

They were able to regenerate skin and skeletal muscle RNA using this method.

RNA is a molecule that communicates what the cell should do from the genome to the rest of the cell.

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

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

The research opens the door to new ways of utilizing museum collections

The species was designated a pest after European colonization of Australia, and a bounty was paid in 1888 for each full-grown animal slain.

Scientists have concentrated their efforts to save the Tasmanian tiger since its native habitat in Tasmania is relatively intact.

The concept of maybe recreating the Tasmanian tiger was described as an “exciting idea” by Daniela Kalthoff, in charge of the Museum of Natural History’s mammal collection.

“This is a fantastic animal and I would love to see it live again,” she said, demonstrating the black-and-brown striped skin the researchers used in their study.

“Many of the pandemics that have happened in the past have been caused by RNA viruses, most recently the coronavirus but also … the Spanish flu,” Dalen explained.

“We could actually go and look for these viruses in wild animal remains stored in dry museum collections. That might actually help us understand the nature of pandemics and where pandemics come from,” he said.