Biotech firm nears completion of Tasmanian tiger genome reconstruction

Colossal Biosciences, a biotech company in Dallas, is close to completing the reconstruction of the Tasmanian tiger, also known as the thylacine, just two years into its de-extinction project. The last known thylacine died in 1936. The company has restored 99.9% of the thylacine genome, using a 120-year-old tooth to fill in genetic gaps. This progress follows the initial sequencing of the genome in 2017, which had too many gaps to be viable. Colossal aims to implant the completed genome into a Dasyurid egg, the closest living relative of the thylacine. The first new joeys are expected to be reared within six to ten years on private land before potential reintroduction into the wild.