Revive & Restore

Last updated
Revive & Restore
Founded2012
FoundersRyan Phelan and Stewart Brand
Type501(c)(3) Non-profit Organization
FocusGenetic rescue of endangered and extinct species
Location
Area served
Global
Revenue
$5.5 million in 2022 [1]
Website reviverestore.org

Revive & Restore is a nonprofit wildlife conservation organization focused on use of biotechnology in conservation. Headquartered in Sausalito, California, the organization's mission is to enhance biodiversity through the genetic rescue of endangered and extinct species. [2] [3] The organization was founded by Stewart Brand and his wife, Ryan Phelan.

Contents

Revive & Restore has created a "Genetic Rescue Toolkit" for wildlife conservation – a suite of biotechnology tools adapted from human medicine and commercial agriculture that can improve wildlife conservation outcomes. [4] [5] [6] The toolkit includes biobanking and cell culturing, genetic sequencing, and advanced reproductive technologies, such as cloning. The toolkit complements traditional conservation practices, such as captive breeding and habitat restoration.[ citation needed ]

Revive & Restore has caused controversy. In particular, Brand's work in de-extinction has been characterized as "playing god" and criticized for taking time and money away from traditional conservation efforts. [7] [8] [9] In addition, many are concerned by the concept of cloning, even in the context of conservation. [10] [11] [12]

History

Revive & Restore was co-founded in 2012 by Stewart Brand and Ryan Phelan with the idea of bringing biotechnology solutions to conservation. [13] The group was incubated by the Long Now Foundation until 2017, when it became an independent 501(c)(3) organization.

In 2013 Revive & Restore organized the first public meeting on de-extinction. [14] Their founding projects include the de-extinction of the passenger pigeon, [15] heath hen, [16] and woolly mammoth. [17] Since then, Revive & Restore has established partnerships with research institutions, governmental agencies, and conservation organizations on a broad range of genetic rescue programs.[ citation needed ]

Revive & Restore is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and has long-standing partnerships with the US Fish & Wildlife Service, The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Morris Animal Foundation, and ViaGen Pets & Equine, among others.[ citation needed ]

Programs

Advanced Coral Toolkit

The Advanced Coral Toolkit supports research teams in the development and field testing of biotechnologies that benefit coral reef management and restoration efforts. Projects include coral cryopreservation methods for large scale biobanking [18] and fieldable devices for measuring genetic information or molecular signals associated with coral stress. [19] Launched in 2019, the program has funded 10 research teams. [20]

Wild Genomes

Wild Genomes is a funding program to provide genomic tools to field scientists, wildlife managers, and citizens working to protect their local biodiversity. As of 2023, Wild Genomes has funded 30 individual projects. Program categories include Terrestrial Species, Marine Species, Amphibians, [21] and Kelp Ecosystems [22]

Cloning for conservation

To help mitigate inbreeding depression for two endangered species, the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) and Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalskii), Revive & Restore facilitates on-going efforts to clone individuals from historic cell lines stored at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Frozen Zoo.

On December 10, 2020, the world's first cloned black-footed ferret was born. This ferret, named Elizabeth Ann, marked the first time a U.S. endangered species was successfully cloned. [23]

On August 6, 2020, the world's first cloned Przewalski’s horse was born. [24] [25] [26] Since the oocyte used was from a domestic horse, this was an example of interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). [27] In 2022, the horse, named Kurt, was paired with a female Przewalski's horse at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Safari Park to learn the behaviors of his species. [28] On February 17, 2023, a second cloned Przewalski's horse was born from the same historic cell line. [29] [30] Kurt and the new foal are genetic twins that may become the first cloned animals to restore lost genetic variation to their species. [31]

Intended Consequences Initiative

In 2020, Revive & Restore developed a campaign around the concept of "Intended Consequences" – focusing on the benefits of conservation interventions, as opposed to focusing on the fears of unintended consequences. [32] That year, Revive & Restore hosted a virtual workshop that resulted in the publication of a special issue in the journal Conservation Science and Practice. [33]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloning</span> Process of producing individual organisms with identical genomes

Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical genomes, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction; this reproduction of an organism by itself without a mate is known as parthenogenesis. In the field of biotechnology, cloning is the process of creating cloned organisms of cells and of DNA fragments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embryo</span> Multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development

An embryo is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm cell. The resulting fusion of these two cells produces a single-celled zygote that undergoes many cell divisions that produce cells known as blastomeres. The blastomeres are arranged as a solid ball that when reaching a certain size, called a morula, takes in fluid to create a cavity called a blastocoel. The structure is then termed a blastula, or a blastocyst in mammals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Przewalski's horse</span> Subspecies of mammal

Przewalski's horse, also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered horse originally native to the steppes of Central Asia. It is named after the Russian geographer and explorer Nikolay Przhevalsky. Once extinct in the wild, since the 1990s it has been reintroduced to its native habitat in Mongolia in the Khustain Nuruu National Park, Takhin Tal Nature Reserve, and Khomiin Tal, as well as several other locales in Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

<i>Ex situ</i> conservation Preservation of plants or animals outside their natural habitats

Ex situ conservation is the process of protecting an endangered species, variety or breed, of plant or animal outside its natural habitat. For example, by removing part of the population from a threatened habitat and placing it in a new location, an artificial environment which is similar to the natural habitat of the respective animal and within the care of humans, such as a zoological park or wildlife sanctuary. The degree to which humans control or modify the natural dynamics of the managed population varies widely, and this may include alteration of living environments, reproductive patterns, access to resources, and protection from predation and mortality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-footed ferret</span> Species of carnivore

The black-footed ferret, also known as the American polecat or prairie dog hunter, is a species of mustelid native to central North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Species reintroduction</span> Wildlife conservation technique

Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustaining population to an area where it has been extirpated, or to augment an existing population. Species that may be eligible for reintroduction are typically threatened or endangered in the wild. However, reintroduction of a species can also be for pest control; for example, wolves being reintroduced to a wild area to curb an overpopulation of deer. Because reintroduction may involve returning native species to localities where they had been extirpated, some prefer the term "reestablishment".

Commercial animal cloning is the cloning of animals for commercial purposes, including animal husbandry, medical research, competition camels and horses, pet cloning, and restoring populations of endangered and extinct animals. The practice was first demonstrated in 1996 with Dolly the sheep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife conservation</span> Practice of protecting wild plant and animal species and their habitats

Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habitat destruction, degradation, fragmentation, overexploitation, poaching, pollution, climate change, and the illegal wildlife trade. The IUCN estimates that 42,100 species of the ones assessed are at risk for extinction. Expanding to all existing species, a 2019 UN report on biodiversity put this estimate even higher at a million species. It is also being acknowledged that an increasing number of ecosystems on Earth containing endangered species are disappearing. To address these issues, there have been both national and international governmental efforts to preserve Earth's wildlife. Prominent conservation agreements include the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). There are also numerous nongovernmental organizations (NGO's) dedicated to conservation such as the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, the Wild Animal Health Fund and Conservation International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Captive breeding</span> Of wild organisms, by humans

Captive breeding, also known as captive propagation, is the process of keeping plants or animals in controlled environments, such as wildlife reserves, zoos, botanic gardens, and other conservation facilities. It is sometimes employed to help species that are being threatened by the effects of human activities such as climate change, habitat loss, fragmentation, overhunting or fishing, pollution, predation, disease, and parasitism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild horse</span> Undomesticated four-footed mammal from the equine family

The wild horse is a species of the genus Equus, which includes as subspecies the modern domesticated horse as well as the endangered Przewalski's horse. The European wild horse, also known as the tarpan, that went extinct in the late 19th or early 20th century has previously been treated as the nominate subspecies of wild horse, Equus ferus ferus, but more recent studies have cast doubt on whether tarpans were truly wild or if they actually were feral horses or hybrids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extinct in the wild</span> IUCN conservation category

A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as only consisting of living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range. Classification requires exhaustive surveys conducted within the species' known habitat with consideration given to seasonality, time of day, and life cycle. Once a species is classified as EW, the only way for it to be downgraded is through reintroduction.

Genetic erosion is a process where the limited gene pool of an endangered species diminishes even more when reproductive individuals die off before reproducing with others in their endangered low population. The term is sometimes used in a narrow sense, such as when describing the loss of particular alleles or genes, as well as being used more broadly, as when referring to the loss of a phenotype or whole species.

A frozen zoo is a storage facility in which genetic materials taken from animals are stored at very low temperatures (−196 °C) in tanks of liquid nitrogen. Material preserved in this way can be stored indefinitely and used for artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, embryo transfer, and cloning. There are a few frozen zoos across the world that implement this technology for conservation efforts. Several different species have been introduced to this technology, including the Pyrenean ibex, Black-footed ferret, and potentially the white rhinoceros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation biology of parasites</span>

A large proportion of living species on Earth live a parasitic way of life. Parasites have traditionally been seen as targets of eradication efforts, and they have often been overlooked in conservation efforts. In the case of parasites living in the wild – and thus harmless to humans and domesticated animals – this view is changing. The conservation biology of parasites is an emerging and interdisciplinary field that recognizes the integral role parasites play in ecosystems. Parasites are intricately woven into the fabric of ecological communities, with diverse species occupying a range of ecological niches and displaying complex relationships with their hosts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revival of the woolly mammoth</span> Efforts to revive the woolly mammoth

The revival of the woolly mammoth is a proposed hypothetical that frozen soft-tissue remains and DNA from extinct woolly mammoths could be a means of regenerating the species. Several methods have been proposed to achieve this goal, including cloning, artificial insemination, and genome editing. Whether or not it is ethical to create a live mammoth is debated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">De-extinction</span> Process of re-creating an extinct species

De-extinction is the process of generating an organism that either resembles or is an extinct species. There are several ways to carry out the process of de-extinction. Cloning is the most widely proposed method, although genome editing and selective breeding have also been considered. Similar techniques have been applied to certain endangered species, in hopes to boost their genetic diversity. The only method of the three that would provide an animal with the same genetic identity is cloning. There are benefits and drawbacks to the process of de-extinction ranging from technological advancements to ethical issues.

Necrofauna are species that were previously extinct and have been biologically revived or recreated by the process of de-extinction.

David Edwin Wildt was an American wildlife biologist, who worked at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) for almost 40 years. He pioneered research in wildlife reproductive physiology, and became instrumental in rescuing species which would have otherwise gone extinct due to dwindling population sizes. The species he may have helped "save" from extinction included cheetahs, lions, African antelopes, black-footed ferrets, while his work included first time artificial inseminations of the clouded leopard, puma, snow leopard, tiger, Eld's deer, scimitar-horned oryx, Persian onager, and the Przewalski's horse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Ann</span> First cloned ferret

Elizabeth Ann is a black-footed ferret, the first U.S. endangered species to be cloned.

References

  1. "IRS 990 Form" (PDF).
  2. "What we do". Revive&Restore. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  3. Using Technology to Reverse Extinction. The Atlantic. 14 October 2016.
  4. Novak, Ben J.; Maloney, Tom; Phelan, Ryan (February 2018). "Advancing a New Toolkit for Conservation: From Science to Policy". The CRISPR Journal. 1 (1): 11–15. doi:10.1089/crispr.2017.0019. eISSN   2573-1602. ISSN   2573-1599. PMID   31021184.
  5. "The Genetic Rescue Toolkit". Revive&Restore. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  6. Piaggio, Antoinette J.; Segelbacher, Gernot; Seddon, Philip J.; Alphey, Luke; Bennett, Elizabeth L.; Carlson, Robert H.; Friedman, Robert M.; Kanavy, Dona; Phelan, Ryan; Redford, Kent H.; Rosales, Marina; Slobodian, Lydia; Wheeler, Keith (February 2017). "Is It Time for Synthetic Biodiversity Conservation?". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 32 (2): 97–107. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2016.10.016 . ISSN   0169-5347. PMID   27871673.
  7. Yin, Steph (20 March 2017). "We Might Soon Resurrect Extinct Species. Is It Worth the Cost?". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  8. Ehrlich, Paul; Ehrlich, Anne H. "The Case Against De-Extinction: It's a Fascinating but Dumb Idea". Yale E360. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  9. O'Malley, Sheila. "We Are As Gods movie review & film summary (2022)". Rogerebert.com. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  10. Leah Worthington (17 September 2021). "De-extinction Could Reverse Species Loss. But Should We Do It?". Cal Alumni Association, UC Berkeley.
  11. W.S. Roberts (19 October 2020). "The Booming Call of De-extinction". The Scientist.
  12. "Should genetic engineering be used as a tool for conservation?". IEMA. 29 September 2017.
  13. John Markoff (Apr 19, 2021). "The Butterfly Effect". Alta.
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  15. "Bringing back the Passenger Pigeon". Revive&Restore. Feb 8, 2012.
  16. Noah Asimow (22 August 2019). "By Land and Sea, Looking to Restore a Planet in Crisis". The Vineyard Gazette.
  17. Nathaniel Rich (Feb 27, 2014). "The Mammoth Cometh". NY Times.
  18. Powell-Palm, Matthew J.; Henley, E. Michael; Consiglio, Anthony N.; Lager, Claire; Chang, Brooke; Perry, Riley; Fitzgerald, Kendall; Daly, Jonathan; Rubinsky, Boris; Hagedorn, Mary (2023-03-06), Cryopreservation and revival of Hawaiian stony corals via isochoric vitrification (PDF), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, doi:10.1101/2023.03.05.531199
  19. Meng, Zhuolun; Williams, Amanda; Liau, Pinky; Stephens, Timothy G.; Drury, Crawford; Chiles, Eric N.; Su, Xiaoyang; Javanmard, Mehdi; Bhattacharya, Debashish (2022-08-24). "Development of a portable toolkit to diagnose coral thermal stress". Scientific Reports. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. 12 (1): 14398. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-18653-3. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   9402530 . PMID   36002502.
  20. "Advanced Coral Toolkit". Revive & Restore. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  21. "Morris Animal Foundation and Revive & Restore Announce New Partnership". Morris Animal Foundation. 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  22. "Morris Animal Foundation accepting genetic research proposals for kelp forest species". Veterinary 33 (in Italian). 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  23. Magazine, Smithsonian; Fox, Alex (2021-02-22). "Elizabeth Ann Is the First Cloned Black-Footed Ferret". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  24. Morris-Grant, Brianna (2023-01-28). "San Diego Zoo announces birth of critically endangered Przewalski's horse, cloned using 42-year-old DNA - ABC News". ABC. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  25. Daisy Hernandez (Oct 26, 2020). "Scientists Cloned the Most Endangered Horse in the World—From 40-Year-Old DNA". Popular Mechanics.
  26. Tian, X. Cindy; Kubota, Chikara; Enright, Brian; Yang, Xiangzhong (2003-11-13). "Cloning animals by somatic cell nuclear transfer – biological factors". Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology. 1 (1): 98. doi: 10.1186/1477-7827-1-98 . ISSN   1477-7827. PMC   521203 . PMID   14614770.
  27. Lagutina, Irina; Fulka, Helena; Lazzari, Giovanna; Galli, Cesare (October 2013). "Interspecies Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer: Advancements and Problems". Cellular Reprogramming. 15 (5): 374–384. doi:10.1089/cell.2013.0036. ISSN   2152-4971. PMC   3787369 . PMID   24033141.
  28. "World's First Successfully Cloned Endangered Przewalski's Horse Now Learning the Language of Wild Horses". San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. 2022-09-27. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
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  33. "Issue Information". Conservation Science and Practice. Wiley. 3 (4). 2021. doi:10.1111/csp2.226. ISSN   2578-4854. S2CID   243515255.