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Ecology: Gene tweaking for conservation

Nature volume 501, pages 485–486 (2013)Cite this article

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It is time to weigh up the pros and cons of using genetic engineering to rescue species from extinction, say Michael A. Thomas and colleagues.

Even the most conservative estimates predict1 that 15–40% of living species will be effectively extinct by 2050 as a result of climate change, habitat loss and other consequences of human activities. In the face of such drastic losses, scientists are debating the pros and cons of various, and often controversial, interventions. These include moving populations to help track hospitable habitats, and reinstating keystone species — those that have a large effect on ecosystem structure and function, such as top-level predators — into areas where they have long been absent2,3. Even the revival of species that have recently gone extinct is being explored.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Michael A. Thomas is professor of biology at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho.,

    Michael A. Thomas

  2. Gary W. Roemer is associate professor in the Department of Fish, Wildlife &amp,

    Gary W. Roemer

  3. Conservation Ecology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico.,

    Gary W. Roemer

  4. and a visiting fellow in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, C. Josh Donlan is executive director of Advanced Conservation Strategies, Midway, Utah, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.,

    C. Josh Donlan

  5. Brett G. Dickson is president and chief scientist at the Conservation Science Partners, Truckee, California, and assistant research professor at the School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona.,

    Brett G. Dickson

  6. Marjorie Matocq is associate professor of biology in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada.,

    Marjorie Matocq

  7. Jason Malaney is a research associate in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada.,

    Jason Malaney

Authors
  1. Michael A. Thomas
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  2. Gary W. Roemer
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  3. C. Josh Donlan
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  4. Brett G. Dickson
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  5. Marjorie Matocq
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  6. Jason Malaney
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael A. Thomas.

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Thomas, M., Roemer, G., Donlan, C. et al. Ecology: Gene tweaking for conservation. Nature 501, 485–486 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/501485a

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