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Genetic engineering has brought many promising aspects of improvement to the lives of human beings. The conversation has, in the last few years, expanded to the use of genetic engineering for the purpose of conservation biology. Such conversation includes not only what is possible but also what should be done. How should we approach the possibility of modifying genomes and embryos of endangered and even of already extinct plants and animals?

In other words, how much could and should we manipulate the DNA of wild species in our attempt to save them?

Prior to the idea of using genetic engineering, the plan was to move species around (a human-led migration of sorts) according to where they were best suited in light of climate change. But what if genes were manipulated instead, such that these species could stay in their original regions withstanding those changes in — and caused by — climate such as drought, flood, fire, high-category hurricanes, pathogens, and rise in water and air temperature? 

One thing that has already been occurring for roughly 20 years is the hybridization of wild species (this has occurred for hundreds of years in agriculture). The inbred population of Florida panthers, for example, received a little genetic help from a Texas sub-species in the early 2000s. The cross-breeding between these two subspecies allowed for the Florida panther to successfully reproduce cubs with higher genetic variation. The idea of hybridization, however, is seen as a very slow and inefficient process in relation to how quickly our world is changing. Wildlife genetic engineering would allow for a much faster adaptation (“facilitated adaptation”), though there are concerns for potential harm in the attempt to do good. For example, genes can have multiple functions. If a gene is imported because of a particular benefit, there is the risk of also importing dangerous traits coded by that same gene.

Do you see the moving of genes from one wild species to another as a violation of nature’s diversity? Or do you see it as a necessary means to save species on the brink of extinction?

Reading material you may find helpful:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2013/09/25/genetically-engineering-the-wild/Links to an external site.

https://www.nature.com/news/ecology-gene-tweaking-for-conservation-1.13790#/b10Links to an external site.

https://institute.sandiegozoo.org/resources/frozen-zoo%C2%AELinks to an external site.