160 species of extinct plants discovered that could one day come back to life and 12 others, instead, erroneously considered extinct: this is the result of two international studies coordinated by Thomas Abeli and Giulia Albani, of the University of Roma Tre, and published in the journal Nature plants.
The researchers went in search of seeds preserved in the herbariums of plants that are now extinct and 'candidates for de-extinction'.
Many recent estimates indicate that man is primarily responsible for the disappearance of a large number of living species, so much so that according to many researchers the sixth mass extinction is underway and as many as 40% of current plant species are threatened with extinction.
It therefore becomes essential to undertake concrete actions for the conservation and safeguarding of the most endangered species.
The two studies went in this direction, which also saw the participation of the universities of Pisa and Pavia, analyzing the 'resurrection' potential of over 360 plant species currently considered extinct and studying the possibilities of recovering, through a 'de -extinction', some species become extinct.
“There is the possibility – Abeli explained – of bringing back to life extinct plants whose seeds are preserved in naturalistic collections, particularly in herbariums.
This research represents the first step in this direction and has made it possible to identify about 160 extinct species whose seeds still exist in over 60 herbariums around the world".
The research also found that 12 species of plants considered extinct are not extinct at all, but are preserved in botanical gardens or in the wild.