De-Extinction of the Dire Wolf

A bioscience company in the United States, Colossal Biosciences,  announced the revival of the extinct dire wolf.  This marks the first successful resurrection of an extinct species through de-extinction science, after the dire wolf disappeared over 10,000 years ago.

Background of the Dire Wolf

• Scientific name: Aenocyon dirus.
• Dominated southern Canada and the US before extinction 13,000 years ago.
• Characteristics: 
  1. Larger and similar to today's grey wolves (Canis lupus).
  2. White coats, standing 3.5 feet tall, over 6 feet in length, weighing up to 68 kg.
• Prey included horses, bison, and possibly mammoths.
• Extinction likely due to the disappearance of prey species.

Colossal's Claim and Process

• Three genetically modified grey wolf pups reportedly resemble dire wolves: 
• De-extinction utilized genetic information from dire wolf specimens: 
  1. DNA recovered from 13,000-year-old tooth and 72,000-year-old skull.
  2. Comparison with canid species confirmed grey wolf as the closest relative.
• Employed gene editing to introduce 20 unique edits to the grey wolf genome: 
  1. Fifteen edits aimed at recreating extinct dire wolf traits.

Controversies and Challenges

The legitimacy of these pups being true dire wolves is debated:

• Colossal states that grey wolves and dire wolves share 99.5% of DNA.
• However, differences in millions of base pairs suggest distinct species.
• Phylogenetic analysis shows last common ancestor lived 6 million years ago.
• Concept of species classification varies; Colossal uses morphological species concept.

Future Prospects

Despite the breakthrough, the dire wolf species might not be truly reborn:

• The new pups lack parental guidance and hunting skills.
• Breeding is restricted, with plans for a few more engineered animals.
• Potentially mirrors the fate of the bucardo, another revived yet extinct species.