Question

IDS Bonus 1

A controversial practice in conservation is the collecting of DNA from endangered animals and keeping it safe in various institutions so as to have a "stored bank" in case the animal goes extinct. One such project is the Frozen Ark Project. The "mission of the Frozen Ark Project is to collect, preserve and store tissue, gametes, viable cells and DNA from endangered animals. The project focuses on the thousands of animals that are threatened with extinction. Animal species are dying out at an unprecedented rate. The current round of extinctions is largely created by mankind, because of the increase in human populations and its effect on the planet’s ecosystems. Global warming is a major contributor to this destruction. Despite the best efforts of conservationists, thousands of extinctions are happening. This pattern is common across all animal groups, both vertebrate and invertebrate, and emphasizes the importance of collecting the genetic materials and cells of endangered animals before they disappear. The loss of a species destroys the results of millions of years of evolution. If cells are preserved, invaluable information about the species is saved. The Frozen Ark Project is not a substitute for conservation, but a practical and timely backup of genetic material for the good of, future generations" (https://frozenark.org/).  Do you think this is a viable practice? Ethical practice? What are the positives and possible negatives of such 'frozen' projects?

Please write a one page reflection ("a page" means writing a single-spaced Word document with 1 inch margins, and 12 pt Times New Roman font).  

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Answer 1

The Frozen Ark Project works as a unified model, building associations with associations worldwide that share a similar vision and objectives. The Frozen Ark consortium involves research and preservation bodies, including zoos, aquaria, characteristic history galleries and research labs, dispersed across five landmasses. The consortium has developed consistently since the venture's dispatch, with new national and worldwide associations joining each year. The task is spoken to in the UK by colleges, zoos, ZSL, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), the National Museums Scotland (NMS) and the NHM. The consortium additionally incorporates accomplices from Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, the USA, Colombia, South Africa, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand and has an immediate connect to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) by means of its Conservation Genetics Specialist Group.

OUR AIMS

- to encourage and advance the preservation of tissue, cells and DNA from jeopardized creatures;

- to give an entry where data can be gotten to on tests previously put away and accessible and where exhortation on biobanking for jeopardized species is given;

- to improve techniques for gathering, putting away, safeguarding and giving examples;

- to make natural material accessible to help battle hereditary disintegration in preservation programs;

- to defend significant hereditary material for logical research, for the headway of information and to help mankind;

- to disperse data about the present termination emergency, its ramifications for hereditary biodiversity over the planet and on how hereditary administration of jeopardized species can help their battle for endurance.

The significance of solidified examples is turning out to be more clear each day and we expect that interest for great DNA will increment exponentially in the forthcoming years, to coordinate the expansion in the quantity of studies that mean to respond to questions emerging in preservation, genomics, proteomics, quality guideline and transcriptome forms. While saved hereditary material from imperiled species is as of now accessible at a few UK establishments we are as yet inadequate with regards to a focal reference point to interface these frequently separated biobanking endeavors. To interface and improve the general condition of the UK solidified assortments for non-model and jeopardized creature taxa, we have collaborated with the NHM, the NMS, the University of Edinburgh and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) biobank, which incorporates a biobanking accomplice at the RZSS. The subsequent framework will saddle existing examples, make regular quality models among accomplices and associates, create conventions for test assortment, transport and capacity, and increment the perceivability of the examples accessible for preservation and research.

Database: making tests accessible to the protection and research networks

With our UK accomplices, we are at present building up a far reaching web-empowered example database utilizing the open-source programming Specify (The University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute). This bioinformatics asset will give an easy to use web condition for test demands, test use checking, revealing, refreshing, and assembling of measurable data on how hereditary material is being utilized. It will likewise permit us to recognize where hereditary material from imperiled species is as of now put away in organizations around the globe and figure out which genetic supplies should be organized for assortment and protection.

Research: DNA corruption in the field and in the Ark

The fundamental research enthusiasm of Frozen Ark is to comprehend the best techniques for assortment, transport, stockpiling and curation of various kinds of organic examples from an enormous assortment of creature species, every one completing their own particular specialized difficulties. Proper conservation of natural material is essential to detach great quality DNA, so we are as of now running a progression of analyses taking a gander at DNA corruption under field conditions and how unique stockpiling strategies influence DNA quality and uprightness.

some negatives of these projects are as follows -

preservation of genes requires a lot of cost as it requires a neutral environment and handling is very sensitive in this case.

even the possibility of those exact extinct species coming into existance with same vigour and same adaptability to any kind of prevailing environment is highly unlikely.

these genes might get mixed due to human error which might pose a different problem.