Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., October 25, 2009 Cheshvan 7, 5770 | | Israel Time: 01:30 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Travel Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
Share |
Israelis working to save endangered species through cloning
By Ofri Ilani, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: animal extinction 

Among the acacia trees near Moshav Tsofar in the south, a single African wild ass (Equus Africanus), a rare species of wild African donkey that is almost extinct, wanders the desert. There are only a few dozen of the species left anywhere in the world.

Unfortunately, the Israeli specimen, which lives on a remote Arava antelope farm, will soon also no longer be alive. But the farm's manager, Yossi Ben, has a test tube with a white powder which could ensure the future of the species.

The powder is dried blood containing the DNA of the African wild ass from which new members of the dwindling species might be cloned in the future. In fact, Yossi Ben's ambitious program is itself called DNA, but in this case it is not a reference to nucleic acid which is the genetic basis of heredity, but "Dried Noah's Ark." Ben is promoting the program along with his colleague, Dr. Amir Arav, and which is dedicated to preserve the DNA of extinct wild animals so they can be cloned in the future.
Advertisement
Ben, director of the antelope park at Tsofar, hopes to turn his location into a true DNA repository which would be impervious to nuclear attack.

"We plan to have it remain there for 100 years, 200 years, whatever it takes until ... animals are extinct," said Arav. "If we want our grandchildren's grandchildren to see how an elephant looks, we will have to do this kind of cloning," he predicted, calculating that about 10 samples, eight females and two males, are required to bring back an entire species from extinction.

This project at Tsofar, an Israeli version of "Jurassic Park" for species on the verge of extinction, received dried leopard blood this month.

Up until about 20 years ago there were several dozen leopards in the Judean Desert and the Negev Hills. However, their numbers have dwindled greatly due to poisoning, collisions with vehicles and run-ins with residents of the kibbutzim in the Ein Gedi area, leaving only a few of the species left in the country. At the current pace, it appears the leopard will be extinct in Israel within the next several years.

The hope for the future of leopards in Israel therefore lies in the powder in a test tube at Tsofar. It was extracted by the staff of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority from a leopard captured two years ago in the Negev. The hope is to extract DNA from the leopard's white blood cells and clone additional leopards that can be returned to the wild.

"I extracted 80,000 cells," said Arav, a veterinarian and biomedical engineer. "Theoretically I can produce 80,000 leopards from that."

He said the hope is that leopard DNA would be implanted in the egg of a cat. The embryo would then be incubated in a test tube and implanted in the uterus of a leopard from a zoo.

Several years ago, Arav developed a new technique for the production of DNA samples that doesn't damage the genetic code and enables the samples to be kept in powder form for lengthy periods of time.

"Animals become extinct only for one reason, because of us," Arav said. "It is possible that one day we will wise up and decide not to destroy, but it could come too late for a great many species. This technology is a kind of insurance [policy]."
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Hummus battle
Lebanon breaks world record, sends message to Israel: Hands off our hummus!
West Bank unrest
Dozens of leftists, settlers arrested in fresh West Bank unrest
  1.   Then it might be wise to clone some Gazan Palestinians!!!! 04:14  |  Matthew Hopkins 23/10/09
Special Offers
Advertisement
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Date Local Jewish Singles
Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
More Headlines
23:05 Obama calls Medvedev, Sarkozy to consult on Iran
21:32 Dozens of leftists, settlers arrested in fresh West Bank unrest
22:52 Hamas condemns 'unlawful' Abbas election call
21:46 'Netanyahu didn't mean he backed Israel probe of Gaza war'
20:01 Jerusalem police to beef up presence around Temple Mount
21:38 Lebanese to Israel: Hands off our hummus!
17:54 Netanyahu: U.S.-led effort is best way to stop Iran danger
21:51 TV ROUND-UP: Abbas defends poll; Netanyahu clarifies Gaza remarks
22:24 Jewish Agency officials to replace 53 goats stolen from kids' home
20:26 Ministers to discuss bill to give IDF vets more benefits
18:46 Zvi Bar'el / Fuel, but no spark, for third intifada
16:49 Saudi woman journalist gets 60 lashes for TV show about sex
22:48 Man dies after falling down well in Netanya
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved