Northern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni)

[Sanju]

Hope for endangered rhino species: Embryo created with sperm from the now extinct male northern white rhino will be implanted into a surrogate female

• Two northern white rhinos exist in the world but they are both unable to have offspring  
• There are no males of this species left in existence after the death of Sudan in March 2018 
• Scientists have harvested eggs of females from a related (sub)species - the southern white rhino 
• They then hope to fertilise them with the frozen and preserved sperm of the extinct northern white males  
  

Continued efforts to revive the almost totally extinct northern white rhino have taken an important step forward. 
Only two northern white rhinos exist in the world: both are female and neither can bear calves. They have functional eggs but are unable to carry a baby to full term.

Experts are hoping to create a fertilised egg of the critically endangered species and implant it into a surrogate mother.

A surrogate would come in the form of a closely related subspecies - the southern white rhino.  
Ongoing research is being done to see if this would be possible by using frozen northern white rhino sperm to fertilise the embryo of a southern white rhino.

When researchers are happy this is successful, they hope to use the same method with frozen sperm from the extinct males and eggs taken from the last two surviving female southern white rhinos. 
This pure-bred embryo would then be the last hope for the species' continued survival. 

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 Two northern white rhinos exist in the world but they are both unable to have offspring and there are no males of this species left in existence after the death of Sudan in March 2018

*This image is copyright of its original author

Team of experts led by Thomas Hildebrandt, right down, of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin have Scientists have harvested eggs of a female "southern white rhino" and hope to fertilise them with the sperm of the extinct northern males

A brand-new pioneering method is needed to ensure the survival of both the embryos and the surrogates, something scientists have called 'a little bit like rocket science'

As part of that work a team led by Thomas Hildebrandt of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin harvested egg cells from a female southern white rhino, 17-year-old Hope, at a zoo park in the Polish city of Chorzow.

They have recently done the same with selected southern white rhinos about 18 times in zoos across Europe.

With the size of a rhino and its weight of about two tons, it was another challenge for the scientists to find a way of harvesting the eggs without harming the animal.

As the ovaries are about two meters inside, they inserted an instrument they created for this purpose containing an ultrasound camera with a needle through the anus and into the ovarian tissue.

'It's a little bit like rocket science because there is no example which we can follow because we are the first in this field we developed everything from scratch,' Dr Hildebrandt said.

Since the remaining northern females, a mother and daughter called Najin and Fatu who live in Kenya, are unable to bear offspring themselves, the embryos created from their eggs will be implanted into a southern white rhino surrogate.

The process of implantation is what the scientists are now trying to perfect.

Quote:Only when they master it can they risk using the egg cells of the two surviving rhinos and preserved sperm to produce 'pure' northern white rhino, to be carried by a southern white surrogate. They hope to achieve this in less than three years.

'First, we have to optimise the method of implanting the embryos,' said Jan Stejskal, a spokesman for Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic, which has a long history of rhino conservation and from which the last two females were taken to Kenya several years ago.

'We expect to be close to perfecting the method in several months,' Mr Stejskal said.

HOW DO SCIENTISTS HOPE TO SAVE THE NORTHERN WHITE RHINO USING IVF?

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Scientists are hoping to use IVF (Invitro Fertilization) and "stem cell techniques" developed for humans to resurrect the northern white rhino - but the process is fraught with challenges

While the death of Sudan marks a symbolic turning point in the fight to save the northern white rhino, in fact the survival of the species has been entirely reliant on untested IVF techniques for years.

It was hoped that Sudan, his daughter Najin and granddaughter Patu might be able to produce offspring when they were moved to Kenya in 2009, but their close genetic relationship rendered them infertile (inbreeding).

Since at least 2015 scientists have been working with IVF and stem cell techniques in the hopes of being able to create a viable northern white rhino embryo, according to a GoFundMe page for the project.

Researchers in Berlin and San Diego are using DNA samples collected from a dozen northern whites, including Sudan, and trying to apply techniques developed for humans to the animal.
If a viable embryo can be created, it would then have to be implanted into the womb of a southern white rhino, since Majin and Patu will likely be dead before the technique is perfected.

While the southern white rhino would be responsible for giving birth to the baby, because the infant's genetic material came solely from northern whites, it would be a member of that subspecies.
However, as Save The Rhino points out, the process is fraught with difficulty and has a low chance of success.

In the last 15 years just 10 rhino births have resulted from artificial insemination and only two embryos have ever been created - one of which divided into "two" cells before perishing, and the other one into "three".

For the northern white rhino to be genetically viable a minimum of 20 healthy individuals must be born - meaning the whole process must be successfully completed 20 times - to avoid inbreeding.

Then, it would be necessary to find a suitable habitat for them, since their old habitat has largely been destroyed and led the species to the brink of extinction in the first place.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Team of experts harvested egg cells from a female southern white rhino, 17-year-old Hope, at a zoo park in the Polish city of Chorzow

*This image is copyright of its original author

Team of experts led by Thomas Hildebrandt, centre, of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, harvests the eggs

*This image is copyright of its original author

Experts recently did the same procedure with selected southern white rhinos about 18 times in zoos across Europe. With the size of a rhino and its weight of about two tons, it was another challenge for the scientists to find a way of harvesting the eggs without harming the animal

*This image is copyright of its original author

This female rhino and the procedure may be the last hope for the last two northern white rhinos left in the world. Scientists are hoping to salvage the species by using the eggs of southern white rhinos 

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Female southern white rhino, 17-year-old Hope, is shot with tranquillising darts, so a team of experts can harvest her eggs, at a zoo park in Poland

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Anesthesiologists Frank Goeritz checks on 17-year-old Hope, as team of experts harvests the eggs from the animal at a zoo park in Chorzow, Poland

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Thomas Hildebrandt of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin examines samples after harvesting eggs from female southern white rhino

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Thomas Hildebrandt of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin examines samples. If they are viable they may be implanted with sperm from a now-dead male northern white rhino to try and salvage the dying species

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Anaesthesiologists Frank Goeritz prepares to sedate female southern white rhino, 17-year-old Hope, so a team of experts can harvest the eggs

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The anaesthesiologist fires the tranquillising dart at the rhino to sedate it. The procedure was described as 'a little bit like rocket science because there is no example which we can follow'

See the Video HERE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6707867/AP-PHOTOS-Scientists-fine-tune-method-save-rhinos.html?fbclid=IwAR3o3S9NsWo_OoayAmxnNrgGKDJVzAa6oJIEB-hDPsJHZ10YcOZh5TIa7W0 Reply