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 endangered^1. 

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 cryopreservation^2,3,4,5,6.

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)