Assistant Professor Noé de la Sancha researches small mammals and conducts field ecology research in eastern Paraguay. (Photo by Aubreonna Chamberlain/DePaul University)Earlier this year, news about the dire wolf rocked the scientific world. Researchers announced they had used gene editing to
create three dire wolves, which went extinct over 10,000 years ago. This was the first instance of humans reviving species that are fully extinct.
DePaul mammologist and Assistant Professor Noé de la Sancha’s research gives him an in-depth view of biodiversity and conservation science. In this Q&A, de la Sancha explores the important questions scientists are considering as they move forward, including the implications of genomic research in environmental conservation.
What was the purpose of scientists reviving the dire wolf?
One reason is just bringing back species that are no longer here — the Jurassic Park-type idea of bringing back species that would be awesome just to have around.
This could also be a mechanism for conservation efforts. Many scientists argue that we are in an extinction event. In the case of mammals, the first things that go are big organisms. These species are extremely important for the ecosystems they are part of. If you lose these large organisms, you could have a whole collapse of that system. This technology could reverse those losses.
It could also be used to adapt to changes moving forward. I've heard arguments suggesting that, for example, if we were to bring back things like mammoths to places like Siberia, that could be one strategy to bring back the grasslands that used to be there, which support environmental resilience and can sequester carbon to combat climate change.
How does this technology and these advances relate to your research?
It could very directly help us if we were able to bring back populations of species that are now extinct in the habitats where we work. A lot of my research is in eastern Paraguay, in the Atlantic Forest of South America. This is the second most diverse system after the Amazon, and only 12% to 20% of the original habitat remains. If this genetic engineering could be applied to species that are truly helpful in revitalizing ecosystems, that would be very valuable. For example, in places like Paraguay, we are losing jaguars very quickly. If this could be applied to conservation efforts that could help stabilize some of those populations, that would be amazing.
However, we need to address the root problems. It would be amazing if we could support some of these charismatic, unique species and — at the same time — address the original reasons we're losing the species.
Are the animals researchers created actually dire wolves, or are they just genetically similar to dire wolves?
It depends on who you ask. Some colleagues would argue that this is not truly a dire wolf. Instead, these are just modifications of gray wolves that show some of the physical traits of a dire wolf. One of the things to consider is there isn't a universal definition of what a species is. The types of organisms you're working with are going to determine what species concept you adopt.
What ethical concerns are there about this kind of project and research?
There’s a question of what they're trying to replicate. Artificially bringing back organisms is a band-aid, rather than dealing with the root problem. The main reason why we're in the middle of the current mass extinction, at least from the perspective of mammals, is habitat loss. If we consider the perspective of these animals, we might better spend our time generating ideas for creating habitats that allow these animals to flourish.
We also should consider how far back we should go, and for what purposes. When we think about saber tooth tigers, mammoths and other fauna that were part of the Ice Age, their Earth doesn't exist anymore.
What else should people know about reviving extinct species?
It is exciting to highlight the importance of these new techniques in scientific research, especially things that deal with computational biology, genomics and processing big data. Those are all new tools that we as researchers need to learn. At the same time, we can't forget things like the study of mammals, fish, birds, and other animals. Many of these sciences, at least in the U.S., are dying very quickly. Natural history museums are also quickly dying because we're not investing in these types of institutions anymore in this country.
These are the foundations that allow students to understand these organisms to begin with. While genomics and technology-based science are very exciting, we can't forget the basics. Without that, all of this science starts to fall apart.
You can read more about de la Sancha’s research here.