Rhino Fertility Project

Prof Suzannah Williams and her research team have begun work to find a new way of saving the Northern White Rhino by using tissue taken from animal ovaries to produce potentially large numbers of eggs in a laboratory setting.

The Conversation Article

Only two northern white rhinos remain, and they’re both female – here’s how we could make more

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Overview

A technique to produce eggs from ovarian tissue in the lab may offer hope for critically endangered species like the Northern White Rhino that have passed what is currently considered the point of no return.

Led by Prof Suzannah Williams, researchers working on the Rhino Fertility Project hope to find a new way of saving the Northern White Rhino by using tissue taken from animal ovaries to produce potentially large numbers of eggs in a laboratory setting. Together they will refine the method that has been successfully demonstrated in mice. Rhino tissue is scarce and precious - however, ovarian tissue has been obtained by Prof Williams from euthanased Southern White Rhinos which provides the resources for the work.

The research is being funded by Mr André Hoffmann, via Fondation Hoffmann.

Saving the Northern White Rhino

BACKGROUND

The desperate plight of the Northern White Rhino has highlighted the precarious situation of many endangered species around the world. Previous breeding programmes had been successful in raising their numbers but the animals were destroyed by poachers.

The world’s last remaining male died in 2018 leaving just two female rhinos, Najin and her daughter Fatu, neither of which are capable of producing offspring naturally. Although sperm has been saved by conservationists from male Northern White Rhinos, any successfully fertilised eggs would have to be raised in a surrogate mother – most likely a Southern White Rhino, one of their closest living relatives.

With the death of the last male, Sudan, the Northern White Rhino has passed the point where it can be saved naturally and is a shade away from extinction.

"What is exciting about this research is that it could enable us to pull critically endangered species back from the brink by utilising ovarian tissue from old or injured animals to produce offspring.’

"Once genetic variation within a population has been lost, it is lost forever. This makes it important for us to be able to maintain as many breeding individuals as possible in any conservation programme, to maximise genetic diversity of future populations. This will be a huge buffer against disease and ill health in the long-term, and give the new herds better genetic ability to adapt to changing environments in the future.’

- Project Lead, Prof Suzannah Williams

How it's going

The research conducted thus far has yielded novel insights into ovary function and morphology. Our paper "The neonatal southern white rhinoceros ovary contains oogonia in germ cell nests" (Appeltant et al., 2023) marks the first-ever description of the structure and molecular characteristics of Southern White Rhino ovaries. Intriguingly, despite advanced age, all examined ovaries still contain follicles. Our findings suggest a promising opportunity for fertility preservation. Consequently, the utilisation of ovaries from stillborn and adult rhinos can provide a valuable source of cells for advanced assisted reproductive technologies.

We are building upon this knowledge to further our programme aims to develop techniques for culturing follicles from rhino ovarian tissues, with the ultimate aim of generating eggs. We continue to explore and refine the most effective culturing methods as well as generating novel tools to overcome the challenges.