By XANTHA LEATHAM, EXECUTIVE SCIENCE EDITOR
Published: | Updated:
The quest to bring the dodo back from extinction has taken a major step forward.
Researchers at US biotech firm Colossal Biosciences have used artificial intelligence to identify thousands of genetic switches associated with the bird's distinctive appearance.
Scientists say their AI platform has pinpointed more than 2,300 pieces of regulatory DNA linked to the dodo's characteristic skull and beak.
This provides researchers with a genetic roadmap for recreating some of the extinct bird's most recognisable features in its closest living relative, the Nicobar pigeon.
The shortlist of targets can now be tested and potentially edited into living birds.
Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of Colossal, said: ‘De-extinction is as much a data problem as a biology problem.
‘Because so few dodo genomes survive, we cannot rely on the population-level comparisons available for many living species.
‘Our platform provides another path - it learns how regulatory DNA shapes living birds, then identifies the genetic switches that may have contributed to the dodo’s distinctive anatomy. This is more than a solution for the dodo. It provides a repeatable approach for extinct species whose genomic records are similarly limited.’
Experts are one step closer to bringing the dodo back to life, thanks to the help of artificial intelligence. Pictured: Artist's impression
Scientists say their AI platform has pinpointed more than 2,300 pieces of regulatory DNA linked to the dodo's characteristic skull and beak
Unlike ordinary genes, which provide the instructions for building an animal, regulatory DNA acts more like a collection of switches, controlling when and where those instructions are activated during development.
Using a newly developed AI system called GenoMorph, scientists analysed genetic information from living bird species and compared it with detailed measurements of their skulls and beaks.
The team built what it describes as an avian regulatory atlas using hundreds of samples from chickens, quail, ducks and pigeons, covering multiple stages of embryonic development.
Researchers then combined the data with scans and genome information from more than 70 bird species, including the Nicobar pigeon.
The AI identified 653 candidate regulatory elements associated with beak size and a further 1,698 linked to beak thickness and breadth.
Scientists stress the findings do not yet prove that the genetic switches caused these traits.
However, they have provided a shortlist of targets that can now be tested experimentally and potentially edited into living birds.
Using a newly developed AI system called GenoMorph, scientists analysed genetic information from living bird species and compared it with detailed measurements of their skulls and beaks
The AI identified 653 candidate regulatory elements associated with beak size and a further 1,698 linked to beak thickness and breadth
The announcement is the latest milestone in Colossal's ambitious dodo programme.
The company said it has expanded its colony of Nicobar pigeons in Texas, with the population now standing at 36 birds.
It has also developed a new gene-editing delivery system capable of inserting DNA, RNA and CRISPR-based tools into developing bird embryos.
Together, the advances provide what Colossal says is the technological foundation needed to eventually recreate key traits of the long-extinct dodo.