posted 31-05-2002 11:07            

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THE FOLLOWING OPINION ON THE POSSIBLE CLONING OF A TASMANIAN TIGER IS FROM AN ECOLOGICAL GENETICIST WHO MUST REMAIN ANONYMOUS FOR PROFESSIONAL REASONS:

"They're probably a century away from finding a 'complete' DNA sequence. All such work amplifies up short chains so is no use as they only contain about 0.00001% of the total genetic information. It has taken the whole world's research capacity to sequence the human and mouse genomes, over an entire decade, and even then these are only done to about 90% accuracy. So if all such institutions in the world work on nothing else then we should have the thylacine genome in 2102 by which stage there will be no Tasmania left to release them in. And all of this excludes the almost impossible task of successfully implanting a cloned egg (containing devil DNA) into a devil uterus."

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posted 25-05-2005 03:30            

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I've just encountered this site, and I'm trying to ascertain the current activity (if any) in the thylacine genome. My group works on single molecule methods and also on ancient DNA.

I noted the comment that we'd have a genome sequence by "21--" with interest and amusement. It should be possible to get a pretty good draft in 2 years, and a finished sequence (at least to the same standard as human) in around 4-6 years, given the available material and current techniques (and a wallop of funding), assuming the genome isn't too whacky

. Whether you'd want to clone the animal is another matter, but the genome sequence would be of interest per se. Anyone with a genuine interest in discussing this please email me.

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posted 22-05-2007 23:36         

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Although I probably won't be able to help the researcher of two years ago with regards to genetics-specifics, here is a short summary of the cloning project, with links to additional resources:
http://www.wherelightmeetsdark.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=71

Chris.

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