意大利科學(xué)家啟用冷凍精子，助北部白犀牛物種延續(xù)

意大利科學(xué)家為北部白犀牛卵子受精

Silvia Colleoni’s hand holding a syringe was trembling as she injected liquid into a micro pipette to facilitate the aspiration of sperm that had been removed and later frozen from one of the last then-living male northern white rhinos on Earth.

西爾維婭·科洛尼拿著注射器的手顫抖著，她把液體注入一個微型吸液管，以促進(jìn)精子的吸入，這些精子是從地球上最后一只活下來的雄性北方白犀牛身上取出并冷凍下來的。

Her nervousness in the Avantea laboratory in northern Italy on Sunday was understandable. Whether the artificial fertilization of eggs taken from the last two living females succeeds could determine whether the species has a future, or is doomed to end.

周日在意大利北部的Avantea實驗室，她的緊張情緒是可以理解的。從最后兩只存活雌性身上提取的卵子的人工受精成功與否，將決定這個物種是有未來，還是注定要滅絕。

AP

“It does create a little emotion,” Colleoni said, reflecting in a phone interview the day after the fertilization procedures that could result in as many as seven embryos.

科萊尼在接受電話采訪時說：“確實會產(chǎn)生一點情緒。”這是受精后的第二天，可能會導(dǎo)致多達(dá)七個胚胎。

“After it was over, I was calm, but it’s a manual task, any error, any slipping, if it falls, will result in irreparable damage.”

“結(jié)束后，我很平靜，但這是一項體力勞動，任何錯誤，任何滑倒，如果它掉下來，都會造成無法彌補(bǔ)的損害。”

Eggs that were removed last week in Kenya from the last two female northern white rhinos, Najin and Fatu, were fertilized in the lab with frozen sperm from two now-dead males. It will be about 10 days before it is known whether the eggs have become embryos, the Italian assisted-breeding company said Monday.

上周，肯尼亞最后兩只雌性北方白犀牛Najin和Fatu的卵子被從實驗室中取出，并與兩只現(xiàn)已死亡的雄性白犀牛的冷凍精子受精。這家意大利輔助育種公司周一表示，這些卵子是否已經(jīng)發(fā)育成胚胎還需要大約10天的時間。

Wildlife experts and veterinarians are hoping that the species can reproduce via a surrogate mother rhino since neither Najin nor Fatu can carry a pregnancy.

因為Najin和Fatu都不能懷孕，野生動物專家和獸醫(yī)希望該物種能夠通過代孕母犀牛進(jìn)行繁殖。

AP

On Tuesday, Colleoni predicted that “there will be more tension, more emotion,” when she peers through a microscope to see if the fertilized eggs start dividing, in two, then four, then more cells.

周二，科萊尼預(yù)測，當(dāng)她通過顯微鏡觀察受精卵是否開始分裂時，“有更多的緊張，更多的情緒”，發(fā)現(xiàn)細(xì)胞分成了兩個，然后是四個，然后是更多的細(xì)胞。

She recounted how, using joysticks, she guided the fertilization process. “It takes so much concentration, a lot of attention,” Colleoni said. To facilitate success, an electronic impulse is also sent to the eggs.

她敘述了如何使用操縱桿指導(dǎo)受精過程。科萊尼說：“這需要太多的注意力。”為了促進(jìn)成功，還使用了電子脈沖。

“We expect some of them will develop into an embryo,” Cesare Galli, a founder of Avantea and an expert in animal cloning, said after the procedures were carried out.

“我們預(yù)計其中一些會發(fā)育成胚胎，”Avantea的創(chuàng)始人、動物克隆專家塞薩爾·加利在手術(shù)后說。

The ultimate goal is to create a herd of at least five animals that could be returned to their natural habit in Africa. That could take decades.

最終的目標(biāo)是創(chuàng)造一個至少有五只動物的群體，這些動物可以在非洲恢復(fù)它們的自然習(xí)性。這可能需要幾十年的時間。