Colossal Biosciences on How Its Futuristic Conservation Tactics Are ‘Reversing the Red’

With the International Union for Conservation of Nature recently adding 2,000 species to the endangered species list, experts believe we’re on the brink of a sixth mass extinction event requiring innovative and comprehensive interventions to accelerate worldwide conservation efforts.

To raise awareness of the importance of species conservation and the harmful impacts of extinction, Reverse the Red — the global conservation coalition driving species-saving collaborative actions — recently held its first World Species Congress. This 24-hour online event brought together stakeholders like governments, civil societies, Indigenous peoples’ organizations, academics, and the private sector to showcase strategies and commitments to saving endangered species and inspire future conservationists. 

The event hosted over 10,000 attendees and 201 organizational speakers detailing their critical efforts to support Reverse the Red’s Species Pledge in championing the recovery of threatened species. Among the full day of speeches and activities, Colossal Biosciences, the de-extinction company and an event gold sponsor, gave an insightful panel talk regarding its futuristic bioscience and its impacts on species recovery.

De-extinction, Genetic Rescue, and Biocontrol — Colossal Biosciences’ Conservation Tactics

As a biotechnology and genetic engineering company, Colossal Biosciences is leveraging its multimillion-dollar de-extinction toolkit to work on some of the world’s most innovative approaches to species conservation including de-extinction, genetic rescue, and biocontrol. 

“With estimates [suggesting that] nearly 50% of species could be lost by 2050, we really find ourselves today at a place in time when novel solutions to stem the tide or even reverse the tide of extinctions, they’re really necessary,” said panel moderator Matt James, Colossal’s chief animal officer.

In addition to well-known projects like its efforts to revive the extinct Tasmanian tiger, woolly mammoth, and dodo, Colossal Biosciences is working with experts to restore populations of valued endangered species like the northern white rhino and northern quoll, both down to critically low populations.

Recently, Colossal’s collaborative efforts with Biorescue to genetically rescue the northern white rhino made headlines when it was announced that cultured embryos had been implanted into a southern white rhino, a world-first achievement for rhino in vitro fertilization. This embryo was developed from 12 cell lines of the subspecies to ensure a genetic diversity equivalent to what the animal possessed 200 to 300 years ago, before the devastating impacts of poaching.

While the mother has since passed away due to an unrelated bacterial infection, this achievement indicates the potential to save the subspecies which is considered functionally extinct with its entire population comprising two related females.

“I think this synergistic approach, bringing together scientists from all over the world and working together for this task, is a blueprint for how critically endangered species can be saved and provide a new solution against hopeless situations,” said Thomas Hildebrandt, Psy.D., BioRescue project leader and the head of the department of reproductive management at the Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, who is leading the effort to save the subspecies.

Colossal Biosciences has also been working with scientists at the University of Melbourne in Australia to protect the northern quoll from bufotoxin as a biocontrol against the invasive and toxic cane toad. As the cane toad continues to take over the Australian ecosystem from Queensland to Western Australia, the northern quoll — a natural predator of native amphibians — has been devastated due to its lack of bufotoxin resistance.

“The quolls unfortunately die when they attempt to eat the toads. But it’s known what the genetic basis is of this toxin resistance back in places in South America where cane toads come from,” said Stephen Frankenberg, Ph.D., principal investigator in developmental biology at the University of Melbourne. 

“And we know that’s just a tiny little tweak to a gene, just a few little bases of that gene in the DNA code that we need to modify to make potentially the quoll’s resistant. And we’ve recently demonstrated this in cell culture and showed with a simple CRISPR edit, we can do that.”

While Colossal has made major strides toward safeguarding endangered species, it continues to focus on its de-extinction projects, since despite being difficult to approach, their innovative nature has informed the company’s other efforts.

“What I like about these projects is that we know when we look around that there are species that are in trouble everywhere, and we don’t really have any idea where to begin trying to figure out how we can do whatever we can to save them. Writing down the idea that we are going to create a mammoth, or a dodo, or a thylacine, it creates a roadmap. It lets us know what exactly all those problems are that we need to solve and creates an opportunity for us to do that,” said Beth Shapiro, Ph.D., Colossal Biosciences’ chief science officer.

She added, “We can apply everything that we learn on these paths to the protection of species that are alive today but in danger of becoming extinct.” 

Addressing Concerns About Colossal’s Conservation

Despite Colossal Biosciences continuing to lead in the development of innovative and impactful conservation tactics, the company has been criticized for its technological reliance and potential ethical concerns about genetic modification. While Colossal recognizes these concerns, the company believes that in the face of such a dramatic biological crisis, the consequences of inaction could be far worse than worries about approaches to conservation. 

“We have to keep in mind that if we decide that these technologies are too scary for us, inaction is also a decision that also has consequences,” said Shapiro. “And I would urge that as we have these conversations, we think about the long history we have in manipulating things and the fact that we cannot stop, that we need to be able to use these tools at our disposal if we really want a biodiverse future.”

In an era where technological advancements have led to hyperefficient renewable energy and life-changing artificial intelligence assistance, technology-based conservation has the potential to transform the prospects of endangered species and usher in newfound biodiversity in the face of climate change. With an estimated 2.5 million people tuning in to the World Species Congress, perhaps Colossal Biosciences has inspired others to use its de-extinction toolkit to make a change.

About Post Author

Roy Reyna

Roy Reyna is a congressional reporter for Pluralist. He covers the U.S. Congress and its members, focusing on the House of Representatives. Prior to joining Pluralist, he worked as a reporter for National Journal and The Hill, covering Congress and politics. Reyna has a background in political science and has written extensively on the inner workings of Congress, as well as the political and policy issues that drive it. He is based in Washington, D.C.

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