A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biobank could shape how biotechnology will fit into mainstream conservation for centuries to come.
The cloning of black-footed ferrets marked a watershed moment in conservation. It opened the door for biotechnology to enter the mainstream, proving the utility of freezing and preserving endangered animal cells. “Elizabeth Ann will always be an incredible ambassador of biotechnology for conservation,” Novak said. And now, she has inspired FWS to scale up their biobanking efforts.
After samples are taken and cultured, they’re sent either to the National Animal Germplasm Program in Colorado or the San Diego Zoo’s biobank, also known as the Frozen Zoo. There, scientists store cells in liquid nitrogen freezers, which cools them to a point where all metabolic processes stop and cultures can be preserved indefinitely. Oliver Ryder, a conservation geneticist at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, has worked at the Frozen Zoo for decades. He was involved with the biobanking of the two black-footed ferret samples in the 1980s. Now, his team has cell cultures, gametes, and embryos from over 1,000 taxa.