Ancient 40,000-year-old RNA fuels new hope for de-extinction

Researchers in a recent breakthrough have extracted world’s oldest RNA from a woolly mammoth in an effort to de-extinct lost species.

The team belonging to Sweden and Denmark has successfully isolated and sequenced RNA molecules recovered from a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) preserved in Siberian permafrost for nearly 40,000.

This breakthrough is hailed as a major milestone, offering hopes for the revival of extinct species, not only the mammoth but also the dodo and the Tasmanian tiger.

RNA is a crucial cellular molecule that relays protein-building instructions and regulates genes.

According to Love Dalén, co-author of the new study “Ancient RNA gives us a snapshot of which genes are turned on or being active in a certain tissue. That is something that we could never see in the DNA alone.”

“Our methods and results could indeed inform and help the efforts aimed at ‘de-extincting’ certain renowned animals,” said study author Dr Emilio Mármol, whose findings were published in the journal Cell.

As per Dr Emilio’s observations, researchers must go beyond DNA to fully understand extinct species. For this comprehensive knowledge of gene expression, regulation, and functioning is required. “This is something that DNA cannot alone tell, and for which RNA is needed.”

Woolly mammoth, a closest relative of the elephant, is one of the most famous creatures who became extinct during the last Ice Age.

For years, scientists have been trying hard to extract and decode mammoth DNA to understand their genetic and evolutionary history, while RNA’s extraction has remained a daunting task until now.