Scientists make astonishing find inside animal droppings at unusual facility: 'It's feeling very positive'

An unorthodox project using animal feces, colloquially named "the poo zoo," could save endangered species and possibly help pull some back from the brink of extinction.

The Guardian reported that Revive & Restore, a wildlife conservation organization using biotechnologies to restore species and ecosystems, funds the poo zoo. Dr. Ashlee Hutchinson, the program manager, first proposed using dung cells for "genetic rescue." 

Genetic rescue is a conservation strategy that helps struggling species by increasing genetic diversity, as the organization explains it. This diversity strengthens species, making them more resilient and adaptive. 

Revive & Restore has already used cloning to help one species with other techniques. The organization successfully cloned a black-footed ferret using cells frozen decades ago. The species was twice thought to be extinct until some were rediscovered in 1981, as the organization detailed. About 300 exist today. Cloning can help expand the species' genetic diversity, aiding its long-term recovery and success. 

Now, Revive & Restore is looking for conservation and restoration solutions in poop. Fresh feces contain undigested food, stomach bile, various bacteria — and living intestinal cells, per the Guardian. Scientists have isolated these living cells in both mouse and elephant dung. The cells' DNA has exciting implications for conservationists. 

Analyzing the DNA provides insight into a species' genetic variation. It helps inform conservation efforts to boost populations. However, isolating these dung cells has an even more impressive potential. The DNA could be used to clone entire animals, reported the news outlet. 

While cloning could increase populations, it would not bolster genetic diversity substantially. Cell reprogramming is another solution scientists are considering. Intestinal cells might be transformed into sperm or eggs, allowing in vitro fertilization offspring. 

Revive & Restore is also exploring gene-editing possibilities. Using gene editing, scientists could increase a species' resilience. The organization, along with other researchers, is assessing gene editing's potential to revive extinct species, including the passenger pigeon and woolly mammoth. By saving endangered species, scientists could support global biodiversity for a healthier, cooler planet. It is not clear if the poo cells could be helpful for extinct species, but they could help keep others from going extinct.

Professor Suzannah Williams of Oxford University is leading the team. She expressed optimism to the Guardian about the poo zoo: "It's very, very early stages, but so far it's feeling very positive."

While all these possibilities are compelling, we don't need all the solutions or technologies right now. The cultured cells from dung can be frozen in liquid nitrogen. This preserves them indefinitely, so the DNA could be used in the future. Scientists refer to this as "biobanking."

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Biobanking is already well-practiced. However, it typically requires access to the animals to acquire living cells. But Hutchinson's instinct to look for live cells in dung changes this. Now, scientists can biobank cells from elusive creatures as long as they find feces that are viable. 

Dr. Rhiannon Bolton is a researcher from Chester Zoo. Both Dr. Bolton and the charity are working on the project. She explained to the Guardian: "It's a case of how can we, en masse, collect living cells in as many species as we can to maintain diversity that we're losing at a terrifying rate." 

Revive & Restore may have found the answer in a pile of poop.

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