Thomas Bernd Hildebrandt, Susanne Holtze, Silvia Colleoni, Robert Hermes, Jan Stejskal, Isaac Lekolool, David Ndeereh, Patrick Omondi, Linus Kariuki, Domnic Mijele, Samuel Mutisya, Stephen Ngulu, Sebastian Diecke, Katsuhiko Hayashi, Giovanna Lazzari, Barbara de Mori, Pierfrancesco Biasetti, Alessandra Quaggio, Cesare Galli, Frank Goeritz
IN BRIEF: To save endangered rhinoceros species, assisted reproductive technologies are warranted. We here report in vitro blastocyst generation of the Near-Threatened Southern white rhinoceros and, for the first time, also of the technically Extinct Northern white rhinoceros. ABSTRACT: The Anthropocene is marked by a dramatic biodiversity decline, particularly affecting the family Rhinocerotidae. Three of five extant species are listed as Critically Endangered (Sumatran, Javan, black rhinoceros), one as Vulnerable (Indian rhinoceros), and only one white rhino (WR) subspecies, the Southern white rhinoceros (SWR), after more than a century of successful protection is currently classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, while numbers again are declining...
December 1, 2023: Reproduction