In recent decades, biodiversity has suffered great damage, mainly as a result of the destruction of natural habitats, the introduction of exotic species and illegal hunting. As a result, natural corridors between biomes, which contribute to the exchange of genetic material and heterosis, are eliminated. Populations that are isolated provide fewer opportunities for couples, which promotes mating between relatives, producing offspring that are more susceptible to mortality imposed by the environment, such as parasites, infectious diseases and malnutrition. For this reason, ex situ conservation strategies, such as assisted reproduction techniques and cryopreservation, are essential for maintaining a genetically viable “backup” population (ZÚCCARI; SERENO, 2016).
Genome banks and the cryopreservation of semen from wild animals began to be initiated in the 1980s, when it was described that these practices could minimize the effects of inbreeding in animals under human care (PAULA, 2011). Currently, several institutions use reproductive biotechnology strategies for the conservation of endangered species, such as the Laboratory for the Conservation of Animal Germplasm (LCGA) at Ufersa, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Alexandre Rodrigues, where assisted reproduction techniques have already been applied to numerous animals, such as peccaries, agoutis, coatis, jaguars, pumas, tapirs, emus, among others. The LCGA also has a germplasm bank, with the aim of conserving the genetic material of various species so that, in the future, it can be used to produce offspring, especially for endangered species. To do this, animal cells such as semen, embryos, oocytes or somatic cells from tissues collected from the animals are stored in nitrogen tanks. In these tanks, temperatures are extremely low (-196 C°) and the material remains preserved for an indefinite period of time, which can be decades or centuries (ZÚCCARI; SERENO, 2016).
Another important example of the use of animal reproduction biotechniques in favor of species conservation is the Cervidae Research and Conservation Center (Nupecce), which studies species from the Cervidae family, specifically the Neotropics. One of the focuses of Nupecce, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Maurício Duarte Barbanti, is research on topics such as semen collection and cryopreservation, reproductive seasonality, protocols for multiple ovulations and embryo transfer (ROLA et al., 2021). One of the great challenges in applying these practices is that each species can differ greatly in terms of reproductive issues, no matter how close they are taxonomically, so protocols used for one species don't necessarily apply to another from the same family, for example, making the work observed at the LCGA and Nupecce even more special (PUKAZHENTHI, 2004).
Although the lack of information on the estrous cycle and biotechniques applicable to different species, insufficient funds for research and little scientific attention to the subject are still frontiers to be broken, the practices of animal reproduction biotechnologies applied to wild animals are already showing us results, such as the Przewalski's horses (Equus ferus przewalskii), a species already extinct in the wild but which has been cloned, reproduced ex situ and reintroduced into its natural habitat by the San Diego Zoo in the United States (NOVAK, et al. 2023). Another example is the northern white rhino, with only two living animals in the world today, the last hope for this species is the genetic material that is stored in germplasm banks, which is being used to produce new embryos, which could give the species a second chance (HILDEBRANDT el al., 2021).
In short, these technologies are one of the many possibilities for the future of wildlife conservation, especially for populations of endangered species which, if no intervention is made, will gradually become extinct.
Przewalski's horse, the first cloning of an extinct species
Author: Raul Perrone - Vice Director of the Association's Directory
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