Follow Spanish Investment Immigration and Spanish Technology development: the Bucardo wild goat, also known as the Pyrenean ibex, went extinct in 2000, but the cells of the last animal were frozen in liquid nitrogen. In 2003, a cloned calf was produced, but it died just minutes after birth. The birth of the cloned calf was a historic event, marking the first species to be revived from extinction. Now, Spanish scientists are set to test whether the 14-year-old preserved cells of a female wild goat can be cloned.
One of the scientists involved in the cloning research, Dr. Alberto Fernandez-Arias, stated: “We are not yet beginning the revival plan for the Bucardo wild goat; we only want to understand if Celia's cells, frozen in liquid nitrogen for 14 years, remain viable.” In addition to conducting this research in vitro, they will also attempt to clone embryos and implant them into a female goat. Dr. Fernandez-Arias explained: “This research will yield more than one female Bucardo wild goat. If successful, the feasibility of the Bucardo wild goat restoration plan will be discussed.”
Bucardo is a subspecies of wild goat and its population has declined for various reasons. In April 1999, researchers conducted a skin biopsy on the last captured female Bucardo wild goat, Celia, and preserved her at minus 196 degrees in liquid nitrogen. One method to restore the Bucardo wild goat may involve crossbreeding a cloned female Bucardo goat with closely related subspecies, followed by selective breeding of offspring exhibiting Bucardo characteristics. Researchers may also explore several other possibilities, such as introducing a key gene to reverse the sex of female mouse embryos, resulting in their development into males.
