 said. But the ultimate goal for the researchers is to use the same method to produce viable sperm from the samples to boost conservation programmes and save rhinos from extinction. The tissue samples were taken before Tam's death during a routine health check-up. Vets took a biopsy from his front leg and then stored it in liquid nitrogen before academics thawed it out for this research. Fibroblast cells were treated in a lab by scientists from the MDC for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and turned into stem cells. The team then treated the new stem cells and turned them into brain cells. Three months of growth saw the mini rhino brain reach a couple of millimetres in size. Genetic code kept to pave way to make sperm In the experiment, the scientists kept Tam's genetic code perfectly intact which opens the door, they say, to using the method to make sperm. The experiment method 'created an opportunity to produce viable spermatozoa for breeding purposes in future', the researchers write in their paper. 'As the quality of semen collected from Sumatran rhinos is poor directly after retrieval and even worse after cryopreservation and thawing, in vitro generated spermatozoa offer a great alternative for assisted breeding.' The stem cells made from old tissue samples were of 'high quality', the team say, and therefore have 'great potential for supporting the rescue of this critically endangered species'. The potential is wider than just Sumatran rhinos, the team believe, saying the techniques used could help other endangered species.){kind=link}
Tissue taken from last Sumatran rhinoceros to make ‘mini brain’ paves the way to produce sperm which could boost conservation programmes
Rhinos on the brink of extinction could be saved by sperm made in a lab from a now dead male, scientists believe.
A chunk of flesh taken from the shoulder of the last male Sumatran rhino in Malaysia, Tam, who died in 2019, has been used to make a rhinoceros “mini brain” in a world first.
And the researchers believe that if they can produce a mini brain in a dish from frozen tissue samples of a dead rhino, they may be able to make sperm to help save the species.
Rhino populations are dwindling globally, with the five species struggling from poaching and habitat loss. Sumatran rhinos like Tam number just 80 globally and are critically endangered.