Endangered Przewalski’s Horse, <i>Equus przewalskii</i>, Cloned from Historically Cryopreserved Cells
Cloning from historically cryopreserved cells offers a potential means to restore lost genetic variation or increase the representation of particular lineages within bottlenecked species, provided such biobanked materials are archived for such genetic rescue applications. One species for which cloni...
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MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/5/613 |
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| author | Ben J. Novak Oliver A. Ryder Marlys L. Houck Kelcey Walker Lexie Russell Blake Russell Shawn Walker Sanaz Sadeghieh Arenivas Lauren Aston Gregg Veneklasen Jamie A. Ivy Klaus-Peter Koepfli Anna Rusnak Jaroslav Simek Anna Zhuk Andrea S. Putnam Ryan Phelan |
| author_facet | Ben J. Novak Oliver A. Ryder Marlys L. Houck Kelcey Walker Lexie Russell Blake Russell Shawn Walker Sanaz Sadeghieh Arenivas Lauren Aston Gregg Veneklasen Jamie A. Ivy Klaus-Peter Koepfli Anna Rusnak Jaroslav Simek Anna Zhuk Andrea S. Putnam Ryan Phelan |
| author_sort | Ben J. Novak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cloning from historically cryopreserved cells offers a potential means to restore lost genetic variation or increase the representation of particular lineages within bottlenecked species, provided such biobanked materials are archived for such genetic rescue applications. One species for which cloning can provide genetic management benefits is Przewalski’s horse, <i>Equus przewalskii</i>. All ~1800 living Przewalski’s horses, distributed across ex situ breeding facilities and in situ reintroduction sites, are descended from one or more of the five founder lineages established by the 12 horses captured from the wild between 1898 and 1947. Since the 1970s, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Biodiversity Bank’s Frozen Zoo<sup>®</sup> (Escondido, CA, USA) has biobanked cells or tissues of 575 individuals spanning many generations. A pedigree analysis of a subset of deceased individuals represented in the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Biodiversity Bank’s Frozen Zoo<sup>®</sup> revealed an underrepresented male that lived from 1975 to 1998, Studbook Number 615 (also known as Kuporovitch), who would be of high value for breeding if cloned. Here, we report that two healthy clones were produced from this cell line using cross-species somatic cell nuclear transfer from 2020 to 2023. Their identification as clones was verified by a standard horse-pedigree genotyping panel, and, for one clone, a whole genome sequencing comparison to the original donor was performed. This is the first time that multiple healthy clones surviving the perinatal period have been produced for an endangered species. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj-art-3d1626bde4424bd68aa6f8a4de8efe9c2025-08-20T02:59:07ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-02-0115561310.3390/ani15050613Endangered Przewalski’s Horse, <i>Equus przewalskii</i>, Cloned from Historically Cryopreserved CellsBen J. Novak0Oliver A. Ryder1Marlys L. Houck2Kelcey Walker3Lexie Russell4Blake Russell5Shawn Walker6Sanaz Sadeghieh Arenivas7Lauren Aston8Gregg Veneklasen9Jamie A. Ivy10Klaus-Peter Koepfli11Anna Rusnak12Jaroslav Simek13Anna Zhuk14Andrea S. Putnam15Ryan Phelan16Revive & Restore, 1505 Bridgeway #203, Sausalito, CA 94965, USABeckman Center for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Escondido, CA 92027, USABeckman Center for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Escondido, CA 92027, USAViaGen Pets & Equine, 715 Discovery Blvd #410, Cedar Park, TX 78613, USAViaGen Pets & Equine, 715 Discovery Blvd #410, Cedar Park, TX 78613, USAViaGen Pets & Equine, 715 Discovery Blvd #410, Cedar Park, TX 78613, USAViaGen Pets & Equine, 715 Discovery Blvd #410, Cedar Park, TX 78613, USAViaGen Pets & Equine, 715 Discovery Blvd #410, Cedar Park, TX 78613, USAViaGen Pets & Equine, 715 Discovery Blvd #410, Cedar Park, TX 78613, USATimber Creek Veterinary Hospital, 19302 Farm to Market Rd 1541, Canyon, TX 79015, USAIndependent Researcher, Erie, CO 80516, USASmithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, George Mason University, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA 22630, USAInstitute of Applied Computer Science, ITMO University, 197101 St. Petersburg, RussiaPrague Zoo, 171 00 Prague, Czech RepublicInstitute of Applied Computer Science, ITMO University, 197101 St. Petersburg, RussiaDallas Zoo, 650 S R.L. Thornton Fwy, Dallas, TX 75203, USARevive & Restore, 1505 Bridgeway #203, Sausalito, CA 94965, USACloning from historically cryopreserved cells offers a potential means to restore lost genetic variation or increase the representation of particular lineages within bottlenecked species, provided such biobanked materials are archived for such genetic rescue applications. One species for which cloning can provide genetic management benefits is Przewalski’s horse, <i>Equus przewalskii</i>. All ~1800 living Przewalski’s horses, distributed across ex situ breeding facilities and in situ reintroduction sites, are descended from one or more of the five founder lineages established by the 12 horses captured from the wild between 1898 and 1947. Since the 1970s, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Biodiversity Bank’s Frozen Zoo<sup>®</sup> (Escondido, CA, USA) has biobanked cells or tissues of 575 individuals spanning many generations. A pedigree analysis of a subset of deceased individuals represented in the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Biodiversity Bank’s Frozen Zoo<sup>®</sup> revealed an underrepresented male that lived from 1975 to 1998, Studbook Number 615 (also known as Kuporovitch), who would be of high value for breeding if cloned. Here, we report that two healthy clones were produced from this cell line using cross-species somatic cell nuclear transfer from 2020 to 2023. Their identification as clones was verified by a standard horse-pedigree genotyping panel, and, for one clone, a whole genome sequencing comparison to the original donor was performed. This is the first time that multiple healthy clones surviving the perinatal period have been produced for an endangered species.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/5/613somatic cell nuclear transfercloninggenetic rescuePrzewalski’s horsebiobanking |
| spellingShingle | Ben J. Novak Oliver A. Ryder Marlys L. Houck Kelcey Walker Lexie Russell Blake Russell Shawn Walker Sanaz Sadeghieh Arenivas Lauren Aston Gregg Veneklasen Jamie A. Ivy Klaus-Peter Koepfli Anna Rusnak Jaroslav Simek Anna Zhuk Andrea S. Putnam Ryan Phelan Endangered Przewalski’s Horse, <i>Equus przewalskii</i>, Cloned from Historically Cryopreserved Cells Animals somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning genetic rescue Przewalski’s horse biobanking |
| title | Endangered Przewalski’s Horse, <i>Equus przewalskii</i>, Cloned from Historically Cryopreserved Cells |
| title_full | Endangered Przewalski’s Horse, <i>Equus przewalskii</i>, Cloned from Historically Cryopreserved Cells |
| title_fullStr | Endangered Przewalski’s Horse, <i>Equus przewalskii</i>, Cloned from Historically Cryopreserved Cells |
| title_full_unstemmed | Endangered Przewalski’s Horse, <i>Equus przewalskii</i>, Cloned from Historically Cryopreserved Cells |
| title_short | Endangered Przewalski’s Horse, <i>Equus przewalskii</i>, Cloned from Historically Cryopreserved Cells |
| title_sort | endangered przewalski s horse i equus przewalskii i cloned from historically cryopreserved cells |
| topic | somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning genetic rescue Przewalski’s horse biobanking |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/5/613 |
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