Colossal Biosciences Unveils GenoMorph AI to Fast-Track Dodo De-Extinction With 2,300 DNA Targets

GenoMorph AI Tackles Ancient DNA Limitations

Colossal Biosciences announced Wednesday the launch of GenoMorph AI, a platform designed to accelerate de-extinction by solving one of the field's most persistent challenges: working with severely limited ancient DNA1

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. The AI platform to accelerate de-extinction uses advanced 3D morphology, comparative genomics, and developmental biology to identify genes that could be edited in projects with scarce genetic data1

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. Ben Lamm, Colossal Biosciences CEO and co-founder, explained that scientists typically compare many genomes to understand which genetic differences drive specific traits, but that luxury doesn't exist with ancient DNA from extinct species where only a small number of complete genomes can be obtained1

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Bringing Back the Dodo From One Genome

The genetic puzzle facing dodo de-extinction is particularly acute. Colossal has access to just one dodo genome, compared to the 100 genomes available for its woolly mammoth project1

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. DNA from the woolly mammoth is more plentiful because colder climates preserve genetic material better than the hot, wet tropics where the dodo lived in Mauritius1

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. GenoMorph AI has already identified approximately 2,300 DNA editing targets for the dodo's cranial facial morphology that can now be tested in the lab1

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. The platform functions as a "treasure map for the dodo genome," helping researchers find only the genetic differences that matter rather than searching through countless potential variations1

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How GenoMorph Learns Bird Development

Building GenoMorph required more than a year of intensive work. The team collected developmental data from chickens, quail, ducks, and pigeons, combining it with genetic information and 3D skull measurements from more than 70 bird species1

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. The AI learns which regions of DNA are active as different birds develop their beaks and facial structures, then uses that information to predict which genetic switches may have given the dodo its iconic appearance1

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. Anna Keyte, Colossal's avian species director, noted that the model learned what DNA looks like when creating specific structures to fill in gaps for species where that data is missing4

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. There are more than 650 regulatory elements associated with beak size alone and nearly 1,700 with beak thickness and breadth2

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Lipid Nanoparticles Enable Faster Testing

Colossal developed a new system using lipid nanoparticles to deliver gene-editing tools directly into developing bird embryos1

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. This breakthrough allows the team to observe how certain genetic changes impact development without waiting through an entire breeding cycle that requires birds to reach sexual maturity1

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. The company also announced that its Nicobar pigeon colony now has 36 birds and has successfully created primordial germ cells that become eggs and sperm1

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. Because the Nicobar pigeon is the dodo's closest living relative, those cells are critical to the strategy for creating birds that carry dodo traits1

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The Path to a Functional Dodo

What Colossal Biosciences is pursuing isn't complete genetic replication of the original dodo, but something more nuanced. The company's strategy involves building what its leadership calls a "functional Dodo," filling in the genetic sequence of the Nicobar pigeon with selections of dodo DNA associated with specific traits like its iconic beak3

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. Chief Science Officer Beth Shapiro counters critics by noting that the distinction between different species is often fuzzier than commonly assumed, based on an arbitrary threshold of sequence similarity3

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. Researchers will harvest primordial germ cells from the Nicobar pigeon, rewrite them to add dodo traits through genetic engineering, then inject those cells through the shell of a domestic chicken egg into a microscopic chick embryo2

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. When the edited female chick hatches, grows, and mates with an edited male, she will lay eggs producing not a chicken, but a dodo2

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Investor Confidence and Broader Applications

Peter Diamandis, XPRIZE founder and Colossal investor, announced Wednesday that he has founded a new VC firm, NeoGenesis Capital, to back companies using Colossal Biosciences' programmable biology platform across health, agriculture, and conservation1

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. Lamm emphasized that the different technologies Colossal has been developing are starting to converge and help other projects in completely different parts of the tree of life1

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. The flightless bird that vanished more than 350 years ago could walk among us again sometime in the early 2030s2

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. Regarding safety, Lamm clarified that GenoMorph doesn't edit genes itself but helps identify which genetic changes are worth investigating, making genetic engineering more precise, controlled, and testable1

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