San Diego Zoo and Illumina Launch DNA Sequencing for Biodiversity

The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and Illumina, a prominent DNA sequencing company, announced a significant partnership on March 5, 2024. This collaboration focuses on sequencing biological samples from the Frozen Zoo, a vital collection aimed at preserving the genetic material of endangered and threatened species.

Illumina will process up to 4,000 samples representing approximately 1,300 species stored in the Frozen Zoo. This groundbreaking project is expected to enhance research in areas such as wildlife medicine, evolutionary biology, and biodiversity conservation. The announcement highlights the importance of multiomic technologies in unlocking the potential of biological diversity repositories.

Advancing Conservation Science

Cande Rogert, vice president and global head of advanced sciences at Illumina, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, “Illumina is proud to partner with SDZWA to power the next era of the Frozen Zoo. This collaboration is a wonderful example of the way multiomic technologies can activate the potential of these critical biodiversity biobanks.” Multiomic research involves analyzing data across various biological layers, including genomes, epigenomes, and microbiomes.

The Frozen Zoo serves as a crucial biobank, preserving increasingly fragile biodiversity. The samples are stored in liquid nitrogen at a frigid temperature of -320 degrees Fahrenheit, encompassing a diverse range of biological materials, including cells, embryos, and gametes from various species, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

Megan Owen, vice president of conservation science at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, emphasized the project’s significance, stating, “This collaboration marks a new era of genomic discovery that will accelerate our capacity to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.” She noted that the future of the Frozen Zoo will depend on a comprehensive network of global conservation scientists and scalable multiomic technologies.

Unlocking Genetic Insights

Illumina plans to generate whole-genome sequencing data from the collected samples. This data will be accessible for research purposes to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and its collaborators. Selected samples will also be available for joint research projects, leveraging Illumina’s multiomic solutions to provide insights into genetic diversity and population histories.

Rolf Benirschke, chair of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Board of Trustees, shared a personal connection to the Frozen Zoo’s origins. “My father, Dr. Kurt Benirschke, founded the Frozen Zoo way back in 1975, believing it was important to preserve the DNA of rare and endangered species, but not knowing exactly why or how,” he said. He added that his father would be proud of the current collaboration with Illumina, which is set to enhance conservation science significantly.

The partnership between the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and Illumina represents a crucial step forward in the efforts to protect and preserve wildlife. Through advanced genomic research, scientists hope to gain valuable insights that will inform conservation strategies and help sustain global biodiversity.