An USDA facility in Fort Collins is at the forefront of cryogenically preserving species so researchers can be prepared for the worst.
The goal is to save the genetic material of species in the Mountain West 鈥� like the Sonoran Pronghorn or the New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse 鈥� using new biotechnology.
Here鈥檚 how it works: Field biologists across the nation who are willing to participate are given a kit with instructions and tools needed to gather samples. Then, they punch out a 2- to 4-millimeter piece of ear tissue from a male and female of an endangered species and refrigerate it.
Once cell cultures are made from those tissues, they鈥檙e shipped off to the in Fort Collins to be frozen for the future in big liquid nitrogen tanks.
Seth Willey is the Deputy Assistant Regional Director with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service鈥檚 Southwest region, which aids the pilot project. He said this is one tool that could help in case a species goes extinct.
鈥淚f we don't do this today, then that door closes, that biodiversity is lost in the wild, there's no other option to get it back,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t's a little bit of an insurance policy that we hope we won't need to use.鈥�
The idea for this pilot came from a in 2020.
鈥淭hat success was only possible because somebody 35 years ago or so, had the forethought to cryogenically preserve those samples,鈥� Willey said. 鈥淪o we started to ask the question, 鈥楢re we setting future biologists up in our region for the same type of opportunity?鈥欌€�
They鈥檙e also trying to save species from what is known as the . When the population of an endangered species shrinks, there鈥檚 also a decrease in genetic variance when they breed, which can make them more susceptible to disease and extinction.
鈥淲hen scientists know more about the health of those individuals that they are managing in the field, they can better ensure the health and viability of those populations,鈥� said Ryan Phelan, the CEO of , which helped kickstart the idea of the pilot project.
But it鈥檚 more than storing these tissues in the bank; they鈥檙e also being used for broader genetic sequencing research. Data about each species will be stored in where scientists can see what genes contribute to the health of current surviving species and manage those populations better.
鈥淭hey can look at genes that may be susceptible to disease, genes that can say these species will be able to adapt to warmer environments, and they can start to think about, 鈥榃ell, we may need to translocate some of these species over time, further up the mountain or to a different range, both plants and animals,鈥欌€� Phelan said.
This comes as in the United States are considered endangered or threatened, but have cryopreserved samples.
The project started in January, and they鈥檙e currently only looking at mammals since they are easier to bank. It relies on the general recovery fund of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to operate, according to Willey.
Eleven species have been fully cryopreserved and six are in progress. Researchers hope to preserve a total of 25 species by early next year. Some of the other species they want to preserve in our region include the Mexican Wolf, the Texas Kangaroo Rat and the Ocelot.
When it comes to cryopreservation and even the potential for cloning species down the line, some critics think this is one step too far and that researchers are 鈥減laying God.鈥� Phelan said that鈥檚 not the intent.
鈥淭here is every intent to preserve it as a legacy,鈥� she said. 鈥淛ust like we have National Archives, where we鈥檙e preserving our American literature in history, we should be preserving our natural heritage. It's a no-brainer, quite honestly.鈥�
