George, the last known of his Galápagos tortoise species |
These scientists finally went back to the volcano to find these tortoises in order to separate them based on their DNA, whether they had high levels of Pinta or high levels of Floreana. The tortoises that were the most genetically close to the original species were then bred. The scientists think that it is possible to breed tortoises that will have 95% of their "lost" ancestral genes, and can hopefully bring back George's Galápagos tortoise species. The next step in this study is to analyze each animal's DNA to begin separating the two species and find those with the least mixed ancestry, which can take 5 to 10 years from now.
This article is one example on how an animal's genetics can be used for conservation of a species of an animal. Hopefully with more information and technology in the future it should be much easier to conserve a species so they cannot go extinct. Also, like in this study, some species can even be brought back to life with genetics so hopefully in the future less animals and even plants will become fully extinct.
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