Scientists hope to resurrect extinct Indian Cheetah

The Indian Cheetah, which has gone extinct, may be resurrected if cell lines from their cousins in Iran could be procured, scientists say.

A group of Indian scientists at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, is working on the ambitious project of gathering and storing genetic material of the wildlife species in a DNA bank which later may be used to resurrect the extinct species like Indian Cheetah and increasing the population of endangered species.

The Asiatic Cheetah, a variant of Indian Cheetah, is found in some pockets outside India, including in Iran.

"If a cell line made from the Cheetah was available, it would have been possible to resurrect the species. It seems there are at present a few Cheetahs in Iran. If tissue or cell samples could be procured from Iran it should be possible to clone the Cheetah using Leopard as a surrogate mother," S. Shivaji, a scientist at CCMB, told PTI.

The Centre has a "Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Animals" where the DNA bank is currently being set up. The bank will not only help in resurrecting the extinct species, under some conditions, but also help in raising population of endangered species.

"Genetic banking is a valuable resource for conservation because of the possibility of using it to resurrect a species, if required," says Shivaji.

"Sperm, egg and cell banks will help in producing specific animals if and when necessity arises. This would be the ultimate approach to conserve endangered animal species and prevent their extinction from this planet," he added.

The scientists at the centre say that wildlife in India is facing dual problems arising from deforestation.

"Destruction of forests is causing fragmentation of habitats of wild animals and is threatening the very survival of big cats like lions, tigers, leopards and other endangered animals," Shivaji said.

"The fragmentation is also causing inbreeding of animals leading to the reduction in their genetic diversity, ultimately making them sterile and extinct," he added.

Although both these problems are of equal concern, but government, according to researchers, is at present attending to the problem of poaching while the inbreeding part has been overlooked.

He said the gene bank will help look into the in-breeding part also as the preserved cells can be revived when needed.

"Cellular material can be transferred to an empty egg cell from the female of the same species or a closely related species and then transferred for further development into a surrogate mother of the same or closely related species." he said.

"These animals could then be released in a forest wherever required when the number of animals reaches below a critical level," he said.