Antonia was the mother of a beautiful couple, but she is not a woman. She’s nothing less than a ferret and what’s really amazing about this news is that it’s the first time she endangered mammal has direct offspring in the United States.
Antonia marks an important milestone in cloning
This is a scientific achievement aimed at improving the conservation of endangered species. Antonia is a mother who gave birth to two babies in the Smithsonian National Zoo Institute for Conservation Biologyin Virginia.
Antonia is a ferret resulting from a cloning process. It was made using tissue samples from another female named Willa, died 36 years ago, in 1988. The preservation of these tissues was essential to be able to clone a female who became a mother.
It is interesting to know that Antonia’s babies, Patel and Noreenhave three times the genetic diversity of the current black-footed ferret population. This fact is very valuable, because it was believed that this type of ferret had become extinct in the 1980s. However, in the state of Wyoming, a small population was discovered that attracted the attention of scientists and with which they started to work. The results are obvious, Antonia is finally a mother.
However, there is one characteristic that makes the black-footed ferret vulnerable to environmental changes and disease. All those in existence today are descendants of just seven individuals. Genetic diversity therefore does not work in their favor when it comes to making them more resistant.
A glimmer of hope for the future
But it is clear that the arrival of Antonia’s babies represents a new opportunity for these animals. By introducing genes that were not present in the current population, scientists have a chance to make these ferrets increase your life chances over timeand become resilient individuals,
Paul Marinari, Smithsonian Institutesums it up this way: “The successful mating and subsequent birth of Antonia’s offspring marks an important milestone in the conservation of endangered species.”
Cloning technology, which certainly sounds like science fiction, can be used to save species in danger of extinction. A new opportunity to reverse everything harmful caused by the human species throughout history.
