Studying the Dire Wolf genome allowed the Colossal team to understand which characteristics stand out from modern relatives. They settled on properties including size, muscle, hair color, hair texture, hair length and coat pattern. Gene editing was then used to alter the cell’s genome from Dire Wolf’s closest living relative, Grey Wolf. In total, the company has made 20 unique edits to 14 genes in the gray wolf genome. Of these, 15 were intended to replicate the tragic gene mutants that had been extinct. Colossal claims it is a unique genetic compilation of a record number of unique genetic compilations made on any animal.
However, the tragic wolf genome is roughly the same as the grey wolf genome. This raises a tricky question: are these wolves really bad wolves or are they just gene-edited grey wolves? Of course, Lamb says the animals are miserable wolves. “We call them miserable wolves,” he says. “What’s interesting is that it is an area that scientists seem to disagree with.” Species are often defined by a combination of genetically and physically visible features, such as teeth and body shape, size, and color.
George Church, a professor of genetics at Harvard University, says he co-founded the company with Lamb. The goal is to ultimately produce animals with the complete genome of extinct, miserable wolves. “In the meantime, we’re prioritizing all the traits that actually define a species,” he says.
Shapiro also says that the editor is important enough to call the new animal a miserable wolf. “If you can see this animal and see what it’s doing and it looks like a miserable wolf and acts like a miserable wolf, I’m going to call it a miserable wolf, and my colleague, a taxonomist, will be against me.”
David Jakowski, a professor of conservation at Clemson University, South Carolina, says there is “essentially some subjectivity” when it comes to definitions of species, and the role animals play in their ecosystems is just as important as genetics. Jachowski, who was unaware of specific details about the Dire Wolf project, also has “a tremendous marketing value for wildlife conservation” to declare a species that will abolish it.
To make a miserable wolf, Colossal began with blood drawn from a gray wolf. Working on a type of blood cell called epithelial progenitor cells, the team edited the DNA to more closely match the DIRE wolf genome. They then took the genetic material from the cells and placed it in the egg cells of a domesticated dog that had removed the genetic material. Once the egg cells developed into an embryo, they were embedded in the surrogate dog.
To acquire a miserable wolf puppy, it required eight surrogates and an average of 45 embryos. Two deputies gave birth to Romulus and Remus, and the third gave birth to Khaleesi. Five embryo transfers did not result in successful pregnancy. A second woman was born in January with Khaleesi, but she passed away 10 days later from an intestinal infection.
