London: In what could raise hopes for the regeneration of extinct species, scientists have for the first time resurrected the Pyrenean ibex, a wild mountain goat, by cloning it from frozen tissue.
The Pyrenean ibex was officially declared extinct in the year 2000 when the last-known animal of its kind was found dead in northern Spain. Shortly before its death, skin samples of the goat were preserved by the scientists in liquid nitrogen.
Now, using DNA taken from these skin samples, a team in Spain managed to replace the genetic material in eggs from domestic goats, to clone a female Pyrenean ibex, or bucardo as they are known, a newspaper reported.
Though sadly the newborn ibex kid died shortly after birth due to physical defects in its lungs, according to the scientists, the breakthrough has raised hopes that it will be possible to save endangered and extinct species by cloning.
"The delivered kid was genetically identical to the bucardo. In species such as bucardo, cloning is the only possibility to avoid its complete disappearance," Jose Folch, from the Centre of Food Technology and Research of Aragon in northern Spain, who led the team, said.