The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) is setting up a consortium of network of zoos, beginning with five zoos, as a pilot project to serve as biological repositories for preserving genetic material of wildlife species in the form of cryo-banking of genetic material, semen, oocytes, tissues, and cells for future applications in case the animal gets extinct.
The five zoos are Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, West Bengal, Nehru Zoological Park, Telangana, Sakkarbaug Zoological Park, Gujarat, Bannerghatta Biological Park, Bengaluru, Karnataka and Sepahijala Zoological Park, Agartala in Tripura.These zoos will serve as genetic resource banks (GRB) for Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology’s Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (CCMB-LaCONES), which is the country’s only facility for conservation of endangered species.
A dedicated facility of CSIR’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad, the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES), since 2018 has been using modern biotechnologies for conservation of endangered wildlife.
Till now, the CCMB-LaCONES has been collecting tissues of various wild animals which have died naturally or due to medical reasons to preserve cells, gametes and gonads with the cooperation of National Zoological Park at Hyderabad.But the need for setting up the consortium was felt as collection at the LaCONES has been very dismal due to various reasons when compared to the wide species found in the country. “Despite being one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, nearly 14% of all species in India face serious threat of extinction.
These identified zoos will have highly-sophisticated labs with best of equipments to serve as biological repositories for Hyderabad Centre which will then preserves species in the form of cryo-banking of genetic material, semen, oocytes, embryos, tissues, and cells for future applications,” said an official from the Union Environment Ministry.
CZA is the autonomous body under the Ministry, engaged in supervising the functioning of the zoos in the country. “The large amounts of various biological samples have to be systematically collected from different regions of the country and preserved in optimal conditions and then easily accessible to scientists for future studies or applications.
In view of the potential benefit of bio-banking of wild animals, zoos are being asked to donate biological samples of valuable wild animals to these identified five genetic resource banks,” said the official about the ambitious pilot project. Soon more zoos will be brought under the ambit of the Consortium.
Genetic resource bank [GRB] involves the systematic collection of genetic material, tissues, gonads, gametes and cells, and preserved at subzero temperatures without altering their integrity and viability, he added.
GRBs could be one of the promising options for future species management or research by preserving spermatozoa, eggs and embryos of threatened populations, he said.