Tissue samples were saved from his body, but it was a blood sample they already had in the laboratory that was used in the study, according to Jaume Bertranpetit, a population geneticist. It was the latter that finally did for Snowflake, who was put to sleep in 2003 when his disease was diagnosed as terminal.
#LEGO ALBINO GORILLA SKIN#
Albinism causes serious problems, such as sensitivity to light, reduced visual acuity and a predisposition to skin cancer. Snowflake, known in Spanish as Copito de Nieve, paid a high price for his fame - although his color initially saved his life, sparing him from the pot when he was captured in 1966 by Equatorial Guinean hunters, who subsequently sold him to Jordi Sabater Pi. The project analyzed three billion DNA building blocks. You have a 25-percent chance of another albino coming out.” Another issue, of course, are the ethical implications of bringing an animal with a condition such as albinism into the world, they warn. “All you need to do is detect the mutation in two gorillas and crossbreed them. “It is very simple and requires no genetic engineering or manipulation of any kind,” they said at the presentation. It also makes it easier to potentially create a new albino gorilla, according to two of the study’s authors, Tomàs Marquès - who directed the project - and Javier Prado. Led by scientists from the Evolutionary Biology Institute (IBE) - joint-operated by Pompeu Fabra University and Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC) - the study opens the way to exploring new methodologies in the field of genetics related to the conservation of endangered species. That’s according to a recent study of the genome of the famous ape, who was the symbol of Barcelona Zoo for over 40 years until his death in 2003.Īccording to the investigation, which was published in the journal BMC Genetics and presented at Barcelona Zoo on Tuesday, the gene that made him white was SLC45A2 - the same gene that causes albinism in other species, including rats, horses and chickens. Inbreeding in the jungle of Equatorial Guinea between two closely related gorillas - probably an uncle and a niece - caused the albinism of Snowflake, who remains the only white gorilla the world has ever seen. Barcelona Zoo’s famous albino gorilla Snowflake, known as Copito de Nieve in Spanish.
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