Po'ouli Cells Added to Frozen Zoo

January 25, 2005

Cells from a po'ouli, a bird species from the Hawaiian islands, are the latest tissue samples which have been successfully stored into the San Diego Zoo's Frozen Zoo. The cells were taken from the body of a bird that died on November 26, 2004, at the Zoo's Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda, Hawaii. The male po'ouli had been living at the center since September and was part of a last-ditch effort to save the species which belongs to one of the world's most threatened bird families, the Hawaiian honeycreepers.

The po'ouli had been taken from the wild and relocated to the Conservation Center by the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Team with the hope of starting a captive breeding program with the last three individuals of this species. Unfortunately, the two other birds have not been observed in the wild for several months and the species is believed to be extinct.

"Even though the genetic program of the po'ouli may be preserved through cell cultures, the DNA will not tell us what it's song was or allow but a most primitive view of the living organism in its environment," said Oliver Ryder, Ph.D., geneticist for the San Diego Zoo's department of Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES). "Yet, we save all that we can, trust that those in the future will be glad for our efforts, and hope that efforts for other species can be undertaken to forestall the necessity to save a few precious cells as the legacy of a unique species."

Tissue samples from the po'ouli were removed and prepared for culturing shortly after the bird's death. Each tissue was then minced to release cells that were then placed into a nutrient solution and incubated. Once a significant number of cells had been grown they were then frozen to minus 196 º Celsius and stored in the Frozen Zoo. "I am happy to say that this first round of po'ouli cells have been frozen with very good viability," stated Marlys Houck, associate researcher for the Frozen Zoo. "Establishing a living cell line from bird tissue, especially from an older individual as in this case, is particularly challenging, making this accomplishment even more remarkable. As the cells continue to grow, more vials will be frozen, and a small population of cells will be harvested so that the chromosomes can be analyzed."

The purpose of the Frozen Zoo is to provide materials in support of species recovery and population viability, in contrast with banking materials from species that are doomed to extinction. However, by the time any samples were available from the po'ouli, it was already too late to collect samples from each sex. "Although we should celebrate the successful culturing of cells, we should not lose sight of the fact that we have very likely lost yet another species in a long list of unique Hawaiian birds that have become extinct in the last 25 years," said Alan Lieberman, program director for the CRES Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program. "There was nothing to compare to the po'ouli and its loss cannot be overstated. The death of this bird was more than the passing of an individual... it may be the final act in the drama that is extinction."

More

Po‘ouli Death Leaves Species' Future Uncertain
Po`ouli Brought To Breeding Center in "Last Ditch" Effort to Save Species
Read Zoo Blogs from Alan Lieberman, program director for the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program
Po'ouli