Breakthrough advances in genomic biotechnology are presenting the possibility of bringing back long-extinct species — or at least “proxy” species with traits and ecological functions similar to the extinct originals.

The Woolly Mammoth has emerged as a leading candidate for this work. It can be attempted because a close relative of the mammoth is still living—the Asian elephant. Thanks to the similarity of their genomes, the genes of woolly mammoth traits can be edited into the Asian elephant genome, and the combination brought to life as an elephant cousin, once again adapted to the conditions of the far north.

The ultimate goal of Woolly Mammoth Revival is to bring back this extinct species so that healthy herds may one-day re-populate vast tracts of tundra and boreal forest in Eurasia and North America. The intent is not to make perfect copies of extinct Woolly Mammoths, but to focus on the mammoth adaptations needed for Asian elephants to thrive in the cold climate of the Arctic. The milestones along the way range from developing elephant tissue cultures to genome editing and most importantly, developing insights that help with Asian elephant conservation.

The Harvard Woolly Mammoth Revival team headed by George Church (the Church Lab) is working to identify cold climate adapted alleles of the mammoth genome and edit them into living elephant cells. From there, scientists will study the expression of Woolly Mammoth mutations to test predictions about gene function. Specifically, how does evolution shape the same gene to be adapted to tropical habitats in one lineage, while adapting an alternate version of that gene to cold habitats? Not only does this research build the foundations of mammoth de-extinction, it provides potentially valuable insight to evolution for different climate conditions. These insights may demonstrate techniques to apply genetic biotechnologies to facilitate adaptation for wildlife threatened by climate change.

Along the way, we learned of a serious threat of a virulent strain of herpes affecting Asian elephants. To date, no research team has been able to culture the virus from tissue samples, making it impossible to develop vaccines or treatments. The Church Lab is attempting to synthesize the virus in vitro from its sequenced genome in order to develop a version of the virus that can be cultured—the first step in finding a cure. This effort is one of the world’s first projects using synthetic biology to study and treat a wildlife disease. In other words, the mammoth de-extinction effort may confer significant, near-term benefits to Asian elephant conservation.

To get from the genome work in the lab to herds of Woolly Mammoth thriving in their native habitat will take many steps and many years. Revive & Restore is taking initial responsibility for managing those steps. We will begin with organizing workshops and conferences assembling the many specialists—from elephant reproduction veterinarians to steppe ecologists—needed to eventually complete the Woolly Mammoth saga. Everyone involved shares the belief that each step of this process should bring conservation benefits to the imperiled Asian elephant.