Biobanking and assisted reproduction could become a reality for koalas by leveraging the existing technology used to help humans conceive. A detailed model, published today in the international journal Animals, reveals this would significantly help captive breeding programs to retain genetic diversity, and drastically cut the costs currently required to deliver these programs.
Co-author and conservation scientist at the University of Newcastle, Dr Ryan Witt, said koala biobanking and assisted breeding conservation program could future-proof the species, which faces extinction by 2050 without intervention.
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