Advanced Coral Toolkit The Advanced Coral Toolkit supports research teams in the development and field testing of biotechnologies that benefit coral reef management and restoration efforts. Projects include coral cryopreservation methods for large scale
biobanking and fieldable devices for measuring genetic information or molecular signals associated with coral stress. Launched in 2019, the program has funded 10 research teams.
Wild Genomes Wild Genomes is a funding program to provide genomic tools to field scientists, wildlife managers, and citizens working to protect their local biodiversity. As of 2023, Wild Genomes has funded 30 individual projects. Program categories include Terrestrial Species, Marine Species, Amphibians, and Kelp Ecosystems.
Cloning for conservation To help mitigate
inbreeding depression for two endangered species, the
black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) and
Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalskii), Revive & Restore facilitates on-going efforts to clone individuals from historic cell lines stored at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Frozen Zoo. On December 10, 2020, the world's first cloned
black-footed ferret was born. This ferret, named Elizabeth Ann, marked the first time a U.S. endangered species was successfully cloned. On August 6, 2020, the world's first cloned
Przewalski’s horse was born. Since the
oocyte used was from a domestic horse, this was an example of interspecies
somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). In 2022, the horse, named Kurt, was paired with a female Przewalski's horse at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Safari Park to learn the behaviors of his species. On February 17, 2023, a second cloned Przewalski's horse was born from the same historic cell line. Kurt and the new foal are genetic twins that may become the first cloned animals to restore lost genetic variation to their species.
Intended Consequences Initiative In 2020, Revive & Restore developed a campaign around the concept of "Intended Consequences" – focusing on the benefits of conservation interventions, as opposed to focusing on the fears of unintended consequences. That year, Revive & Restore hosted a virtual workshop that resulted in the publication of a special issue in the journal
Conservation Science and Practice.
The Great Passenger Pigeon Comeback Since 2012, Revive & Restore has been working to de-extinct the passenger pigeon (
Ectopistes migratorius), a wild North American pigeon that was the most abundant bird in the world prior to the death of
its final member in 1914. The goals behind this project are to insert the key genes of the passenger pigeon into its closest living relative, the
band-tailed pigeon, to create a functional reconstruction of the species that can fulfil the original's ecological niche in the
Eastern United States. Revive & Restore plans to hatch the first generation of these passenger pigeons by 2029 for captive breeding and research purposes, but it will take decades for the species to be reintroduced into the wild. == See also ==