30 Questions
Which ancient species have full genome sequences available for de-extinction?
Woolly mammoths
What is the main challenge in recovering DNA from ancient remains preserved in hot and wet environments?
DNA degradation
Why can't ancient genomes be assembled de novo?
The recovered DNA fragments are too short
Which of the following is not one of the main approaches to achieve de-extinction?
Paleogenomics
What is the scientific process known as SCNT?
Somatic cell nuclear transfer
Why is cloning of long-dead organisms not likely to be feasible?
Biological remains degrade post-mortem
Why should we consider de-extinction as a means to create ecological proxies for extinct species?
Because even species with cloned nuclear genomes will not be exact copies of the extinct species
Which technique is used for cloning and creating an exact genetic copy of a living organism?
Somatic cell nuclear transfer
What is the main advantage of cloning for de-extinction purposes?
The resulting organism will be identical to the extinct donor at all levels
What is the success rate of potential clones developing into live offspring on average?
<5%
What is the main challenge of using cloning for de-extinction purposes?
Most extinct species do not have available living cells for cloning
Which of the following is NOT one of the three main pathways being considered for de-extinction?
Selective breeding
What is the goal of back-breeding in the context of de-extinction?
To concentrate ancestral traits that persist within a population into a single individual using selective breeding
What is the state of the art in genetic engineering for de-extinction?
It is still in the early stages of development and has not yet been successful in resurrecting an extinct species
Which of the following is a reason why larger animals may experience more enzymatic decay during freezing?
They freeze more slowly than smaller animals
What is the oldest frozen specimen from which healthy clones have been generated?
A 16-year-old mouse
What is the most likely route to de-extinction according to the author?
Reconstructing genome sequences and using genome engineering
Why did early ancient DNA research concentrate on animals that lived and died in arctic regions?
Because DNA decays more slowly in cold environments
Which of the following is a limitation of back-breeding as an approach to de-extinction?
Back-breeding requires that the target ancestral traits persist within a living species
What is back-breeding?
The use of selective breeding to resurrect specific ancestral traits within populations of living organisms
What is the end-goal of de-extinction projects according to the text?
To restore critical interactions among species that are no longer alive
What are the potential risks of back-breeding as an approach to de-extinction?
Back-breeding may reduce the population's overall fitness by increasing inbreeding
Which species was successfully cloned using SCNT from frozen fibroblast cells?
Bucardo
What did the cloning of a mouflon from a non-viable cell harvested from an animal that had been found dead in a field suggest?
Freezing and desiccation can promote the long-term preservation of biomolecules within organismal remains
What was the main challenge faced in the studies that used frozen (archived) cells for SCNT?
The efficiency of embryo generation declined with the amount of time that the cells had been frozen
How were the cloned mouse embryos created from freeze-dried cells, cells that were frozen for nearly a year, and cells taken from mice whose entire bodies had been frozen for up to 16 years?
Entire cells were injected directly into enucleated eggs
Which extinct species was the first targeted for de-extinction?
Aurochs
What is the advantage of present-day backbreeding efforts for aurochs?
All of the above
What is the difference between aurochs and Heck cattle?
Heck cattle have a more primitive appearance than aurochs
What is the process for de-extinction using genome editing?
Harvest cells from a closely related living species, change the genome sequence to resemble the extinct species, implant embryo into a surrogate host
Test Your Knowledge on Freezing Conditions and Enzymatic Decay in Animal Experiments
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