Litewingii

Image: wikipedia

The urgency is there and this is our watch. The need far outweighs the want.

Australia possesses some 200 native amphibian species, of which 16 are considered critically endangered1. 

Since 1979, four Australian amphibian species are believed to have become extinct1.

An important complement to animal husbandry efforts to safeguard against future extinctions is cryopreservation2,3,4,5,6.

Prospectively validated somatic cell line cryopreservation provides:

a) material for cloning initiatives,

b) an in theory infinite supply of (i) nuclear and mitochondrial genomic DNA and (ii) protein,

c) specific cell types for the pre-application screening of pharmaceutical agents, and

d) material for iPSC generation and future technologies such as the potential production of gametes.

1 Declines and Disappearances of Australian Frogs 1999. https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/7de68015-f93b-4064-bed6-b2e21d16b5bd/files/frogs.pdf
2 Clulow J and Clulow S Reprod Fertil Dev. 2016 Jun 1. doi: 10.1071/RD15466. [Epub ahead of print]
3 Kouba et al. 2013 Biological Conservation 164 (2013) 10–21
4 R. Mollard (2018). Culture, Cryobanking and Passaging of Karyotypically Validated Native Australian Amphibian Cells. Cryobiology, 2018 Apr; 81:201-205. doi: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2018.03.004. Epub 2018 Mar 13.
5 R. Mollard. Karyomaps of Cultured and Cryobanked Litoria infrafrenata Frog and Tadpole Cells. Data in Brief (2018). Apr 13;18:1372-1377. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2018.04.025. eCollection 2018 Jun
6 R. Mollard, M. Mahony, G. Marantelli, M. West (2018). The critically endangered species Litoria spenceri demonstrates subpopulation karyotype diversity. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 12(2) [Special Section]: 28-36 (e166)