DALLAS — Colossal Biosciences and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have partnered to establish BioVault, a national genetic repository for endangered and threatened species. The repository will collect cells, reproductive tissues, and DNA from over 2,300 plant and animal species protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Samples will undergo cryopreservation and be stored at Colossal's laboratory in Dallas, Texas. Duplicate samples will be distributed across the United States. Colossal Biosciences will also perform genetic sequencing on these samples, making the data available to researchers and conservationists.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will lead the partnership, defining conservation priorities and providing field networks and regulatory authority for sample collection. Colossal Biosciences is supplying collection kits for partners to gather samples, including blood, skin, and other tissues. Collection of samples has already begun.

Colossal Biosciences estimates it will invest tens of millions of dollars to construct and operate BioVault. The memorandum of understanding for the partnership does not obligate federal funds. The BioVault is designed as a permanent public resource featuring standardized samples and open-access genomic data.

Biological material within the BioVault will be stored cryogenically in liquid nitrogen at minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit. Matt James, Chief Animal Officer at Colossal Biosciences, stated that the organizations providing samples will retain ownership of the materials.

Ben Lamm, Chief Executive Officer and Cofounder of Colossal Biosciences, said the goal is to create a comprehensive backup. "We want to back up as many samples of species as we can," he said. "The materials support assisted reproduction, genetic management of wild populations and future restoration if a species is lost entirely. For the first time, we have the technology to make that possible at scale."

Brian Nesvik, Fish and Wildlife Service Director, said the collaboration will help advance understanding of how biobanking and genomics can complement existing conservation tools and contribute to the recovery and long-term resilience of imperiled species.

Lamm described the storage system's safeguards. "Redundancy is built into the architecture so that no single event, whether a natural disaster, power failure or regional disruption, can compromise the integrity of the collection," he said. "The Noah's Ark metaphor is about preserving the blueprint of life before it's lost, not waiting until a species is on the brink to start paying attention. Noah didn't build the ark after the flood. The whole point was preparation, preservation and the option to restore what might otherwise disappear forever."

Noah Greenwald, Endangered Species Director at the Center for Biological Diversity, characterized the effort as a last-resort measure. "This isn't biodiversity preservation. This is like a last-ditch effort. We'll only need this genetic material if the administration fails at recovering endangered species," Greenwald said.

In 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the cloning of a black-footed ferret using cryopreserved cells from a ferret that died in the 1980s. This marked the first instance of cloning a U.S. endangered species.