Oliver Ryder

Oliver A. Ryder

Abstract

Conservation and Genome Resource Banking

The future of conservation genetics will depend upon what we can save of what is extant. The value of genetic resource collections cannot be overlooked. Although we may not be able to anticipate the future uses of collections of viable frozen cells and extracts of nucleic acids, access to these materials is more readily available now than will be the case in the future. What would the future ask us to be doing now?

Knowledge of the molecular basis of evolutionary adaptations will be the subject of fundamental scientific curiosity and entrepreneurial interest. Extreme dietary specializations, adaptation to a fully aquatic existence, and other changes have occurred in a convergent fashion among the major superordinal clades of eutherian mammals. Comparative genomics studies will offer new insights and provide a framework for interpreting adaptive changes in animal genomes.

The potential for genomics information to assist in the assessment, monitoring and management of populations of endangered species should be recognized and expanded. Applications include animal health - through diagnostics and species-specific pharmacology, evaluation of population viability and elucidation of the molecular basis of adaptations.

Similarly, the availability of the human genome sequence and information regarding its variation will soon focus attention on the humanitarian value of genomic information that can only be provided by studies of closely related species, such as the great apes, and of more distantly related species. This awareness comes at a time when increased conservation measures are urgently needed for all species of great apes and other endangered species as they face the risk of extinction in their native habitats. The value to humankind of comparative genomics data, especially from species of primates, should be recognized by society and within the wider biomedical industry and the appropriate ethical and legal approaches be promulgated .

Biography

Oliver A. Ryder, Ph.D. holds the Kleberg Genetics Chair at the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species, Zoological Society of San Diego, where he heads the Genetics Division and is an Adjunct Professor of Biology at the University of California, San Diego. Active research interests include mammalian molecular evolution and comparative primate genomics. He participates in conservation efforts for mammalian, reptilian, and avian species. He directs the development and utilization of the "Frozen Zoo," a unique genetic resource bank incorporating more than 5000 specimens representing approximately 400 species and subspecies. He is currently the President of the American Genetic Association, and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Heredity and Conservation Genetics. He is a member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Team for the endangered Peninsular bighorn sheep, the Przewalski's Horse Global Management Working Group, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association Small Population Management Advisory Group, the IUCN-World Conservation UnionÕs Equid Specialist Group, Reintroduction Specialist Group, and Tapir Specialist Group.

Relevant Publications

Murphy, W.J., E. Eizirik, W.E. Johnson, Y.P. Zhang, O.A. Ryder, and S.J. O'Brien. Molecular Phylogenetics and the Origins of Placental Mammals. Nature 409: 614-18. (2001)

Ryder, O.A., A. McLaren, S. Brenner, Y.P. Zhang, and K. Benirschke. DNA Banks for Endangered Species. Science 288: 275-277 (2000)

Chemnick, L.G., A.T. Kumamoto, and O.A. Ryder. Genetic Analyses in Support of Conservation Efforts for the California Condor International Zoo Yearbook 37: 330-339 (2000)

Hacia J.G., J.B. Fan, O.A. Ryder, L. Jin, K. Edgemon, G. Ghandour, R.A. Mayer, B. Sun, L. Hsie, C.M. Robbins, L.C. Brody, D. Wang, E.S. Lander, R. Lipshutz, S.P.A. Fodor, F.S. Collins. Determination of Ancestral Alleles for Human Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Using High Density Oligonucleotide Arrays. Nature Genetics 22:164-167 (1999).

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