Cheetah Reintroduction in India

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Like Dire Wolf, Indian Cheetah Likely To Growl Again With Genome Sequencing


LUCKNOW: Like for the dire wolf, which went extinct more than 10,000 years ago and was "de-extincted" in US recently, the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) in the city, in collaboration with the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), is working to resurrect the Indian cheetah, which was last spotted in the early 50s.

Being in the final phase of the whole genome sequencing (WGS) process, BSIP has outlined plans to conduct gene editing of the extinct predator with the aim of reintroducing it into the womb of an African cheetah, using surrogacy to bring it back to life.


Currently, the only cheetahs present in India are those that were translocated from Namibia and South Africa in 2022-23. Out of the 20 cheetahs translocated to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, eight have died so far, besides five cubs born in India.

"We have samples of all extinct Indian cheetahs and are in the final phase of its whole genome sequencing (WGS) that will offer a comprehensive analysis of the cheetah's entire DNA, enabling the identification of genetic variations that may have led to disease or increased disease risk, eventually leading to its extinction," said BSIP senior scientist Niraj Rai, who is heading the research team.

"We will be through with WGS in three months. This will make clear the variations between the Indian cheetah and the African one. Thereafter, we will make changes in the DNA of the African cheetah; this will be done to make it India-specific," he said.



Gene editing would allow the introduction of Indian cheetah's traits, the way dire wolf was resurrected by American genetic engineering firm Colossal Biosciences.



Previous research had isolated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from museum specimens of Indian and African cheetahs, sequencing and comparing them.



Along with Mukesh Thakur of Centre for DNA Taxonomy of ZSI, Kolkata, and the late Lalji Singh, former director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, Rai has also published research on a cheetah sample found in Rewa area of Madhya Pradesh in the early 1950s, thought to be the country's last recorded specimen of the species.



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