Dire Wolf Back After 10,000 Years: Startup De-Extincts Pups From 13,000-Year-Old Tooth, 72,000-Yr-Old Skull

Dallas: A Dallas-based startup company Colossal Biosciences on April 8 announced it had used both cloning and gene-editing based on the DNA of two ancient samples of 'dire wolf' that were extinct nearly 10,000 to 13,000 years ago. The startup birthed puppies from the DNA of a 13,000-year-old tooth and 72,000-year-old skull of dire wolves.

The startup claims that based on the two ancient samples' DNA, it birthed three pups — two six-month-old males ‘Romulus’ and ‘Remus’ and two-month-old female ‘Khaleesi.’

“Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies. It was once said, ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’ Today, our team gets to unveil some of the magic they are working on,” said Colossal CEO Ben Lamm in a statement.

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How Was It Done?

Unlike traditional cloning, which involves taking an animal cell, removing its nucleus containing the full genetic code, and placing it into a donor egg cell, stripped of its own nucleus.

The egg grows into an embryo and is injected into a surrogate mother, resulting in a replica of the original animal.

The scientists examined the genomes from the ancient tooth and skull, comparing them to the gray wolf - the dire wolf’s nearest living relative.

The altered nuclei were placed into gray wolf egg cells stripped of their nuclei, allowed to form embryos, and 45 were implanted into two hound mix surrogates.

One embryo in each surrogate mother succeeded, leading to the birth of Rolulus and Remus after 65 days, which were delivered through a planned C-section to ensure safety.

Later, a third surrogate birthed 'Khaleesi' using the same procedure. 

Fortunately, no surrogates suffered miscarriages or stillbirths.

What Next?

The startup now aims to revive the woolly mammoth by 2028 using a similar strategy, editing Asian elephant's (the mammoth’s closest relative) cell nuclei to express traits from nearly 60 Ice Age mammoth remains.

In March, the company gained success with lab mice by creating 38 woolly mouse pups with mammoth-like shaggy fur.

Interestingly, given the nearly two-year gestation period for elephants, they also expect a surrogate elephant pregnancy in 2026!

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