December 12, 2017
The Tasmanian tiger was doomed long before
humans began hunting the enigmatic marsupial, scientists said Tuesday, with DNA
sequencing showing it was in poor genetic health for thousands of years before
its extinction.
Scientists genetically mapped the animal—also
known as a thylacine—using the genome of a pup preserved more than a century
ago in a jar.
The research revealed the creature began to
undergo a decline in genetic diversity more
than 70,000 years ago, leaving it less resilient to environmental change even
before Aborigines are believed to have first inhabited the continent 65,000
years ago.
"Our hope is that there is a lot the
thylacine can tell us about the genetic basis of extinction to help other
species," said University of Melbourne biologist Andrew Pask, co-author of
a study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.
Pask added the research may eventually enable
scientists to clone the Tasmanian tiger and bring it back from the dead.
"As this genome is one of the most
complete for an extinct
species,
it is technically the first step to 'bringing the thylacine back', but we are
still a long way off that possibility."
The animal was once widespread across
Australia, but was wiped out on the mainland around 3,000 years ago, having
likely succumbed to drought.
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