The mighty resurrection

In research that has more than a wiff of Jurassic Park about it, palaeobiologists use genomics to go back in time and take a blood sample from one of pre-histories most majestic beasts

They might be extinct, but scientists have managed to recreate mammoth haemoglobin using ancient DNA preserved in bones from specimens between 25,000 and 43,000 years old.

The study reveals evolutionary adaptations that allowed the mammoths to cool down its extremities in harsh Arctic conditions to minimise heat loss. It uncovered three unusual changes in the protein sequence which allowed the mammoth’s blood to deliver oxygen to cells at very low temperatures.

“The resulting haemoglobin molecules are no different than ‘going back in time’ and taking a blood sample from a real mammoth,” said team leader, Professor Kevin Campbell from the University of Manitoba, “We’ve managed to uncover physiological attributes of an animal that hasn’t existed for thousands of years.”

Campbell and his colleagues took ancient DNA from Siberian specimen bones and converted mammoth haemoglobin DNA sequences into RNA. These sequences were determined by Professor Alan Cooper from the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) at the University of Adelaide.

The sequences were then inserted into modern day E. coli, which manufactured the authentic mammoth protein. Modern scientific tests and chemical modelling was used to characterise the biochemical properties the enabled mammoths to tolerate the cold.

“It’s been remarkable to bring a complex protein from an extinct species, such as the mammoth, back to life,” said Professor Cooper, “This is true palaeobiology, as we can study and measure how these animals functioned as if they were alive today.”

Professor Campbell said the approach opens the way for studying the biomolecular and physiological characteristics of extinct species, even for features with no trace in the fossil record. Similar approaches are being applied to other extinct species such as Australian marsupials like the thylacine.

Campbell first approached Cooper about the project seven years ago: “At the time I thought ‘what a great idea’ – but it’s never going to work,” said Cooper, “Still bringing an extinct protein back to life is such an important concept, we’ve got to try it.”