CRES PROJECT
Frozen
Zoo
ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO
ANNOUNCES FROZEN ZOO® INITIATIVE
As part of "Genetic
Resources for the New Century, " a conference
discussing developments and concerns for the future of
genomics and species conservation, the Zoological
Society of San Diego announced its "Frozen
Zoo" initiative at a dinner last May 10, at the San
Diego Wild Animal Park. The initiative, which was
announced by Kurt Benirschke, Ph.D., president of the
Zoological Society and founder of the Zoological
Society’s Center for Reproduction of Endangered
Species (CRES) detailed the history of the Frozen Zoo
and the Society’s plans for its future.
"We are doing too little in our
scant efforts at saving what is extant in the biological
diversity of life." Said Dr. Benirschke.
"There are hundreds of thousands of animals living
in various zoos - many having rare alleles and too
little is done to conserve that information for
posterity."
The Zoological Society of San Diego
through CRES division maintains the Frozen Zoo, an
archive of irreplaceable genetic information. Begun in
1976, this genetic bank holds viable cell lines from
more than 3,200 individual mammals, representing 355
species and subspecies. The Frozen Zoo actually consists
of four storage tanks where fibroblast (skin) cell
cultures housing genetic material from various exotic
species are kept frozen in liquid nitrogen at -320
degrees Fahrenheit.
In order to broaden the scope of the
Frozen Zoo, Dr. Benirschke and his colleagues are
calling for the establishment of an international
collection of DNA banks for endangered species. asked
all conference attendees to participate in collecting
DNA samples for future use. His goal is to provide a
last ditch resource for the conservation of endangered
species, while making the knowledge stored in the
genetic information available to all scientists.
"That information should be
universally, globally accessible. But the time is now to
start or expand this effort." Said Dr. Benirshcke.
"Remember, you must collect things for reasons you
don’t yet understand."
© 2000 Zoological Society of San
Diego
Related Links:
CRES
PROJECT - Frozen Zoo
Frozen
Zoo Intro
New
partnership hopes to unlock mysteries of DNA
