Researchers have revoked DNA-material from the extinct Tasmanian tiger in a mouse.

The ground breaking experiment is the first ever. Until now researchers had to study genes from extinct species only in DNA-sequences. Now, they are able to study how genes from extinct animals actually behaves in a living organism.

Some tissue was conserved from the last Tasmanian Tiger. From this they took the gene material (a regulating Col2a1 element from the preserved tissue). This material have similar cartilage and bone building functions as Col2a1 have in mice. The gene material was injected into a mouse fetus and placed where the mice Col2a1 element are located. The mice fetus started to grow and develop cartilage and bones.

- This is the first time DNA-material are taken from an extinct species and used to develop a function in a living organism, says researcher Andrew Pask, who led the experiment.
Pask belongs to the university of Melbourne. The experiment was done with assistance from researchers from the University of Texas, USA.
Pask says that research on this area might bring us miles ahead in areas like bio medicine, as we are learning a lot about the extinct species.

The tasmanian tiger
The last Tasmanian tiger, Thylacinus cynocephalus, died in captivity in Australia in 1936. The carnivorous marsupial looked like a dog but had a pouche on its belly where it carried its offspring, just as the kangaroo. The nearest relative to this animal is the Tasmanian devil.

Pask says that they have managed to evoke one extinct gene, but still we are far away from cloning an extinct species. The big question is wheter this is ethical? Which impacts will this have when we are able to clone genes which actually are gone? Is the argument for bio medicine strong enough to combat nature this way?

You can read more about this experiment in Nature.