Colossal Biosciences’ new AI platform, GenoMorph, has identified approximately 2,300 promising targets for DNA editing linked to the dodo’s skull and facial features. Those candidates can now undergo laboratory tests, according to CEO and co-founder Ben Lamm. TechCrunch exclusively reported the company’s Wednesday announcement introducing GenoMorph, which is intended to help accelerate its efforts to bring back extinct species.
Only one genome is available for Colossal’s dodo project; its woolly mammoth research, by contrast, has yielded 100 genomes. According to the company, the difference comes down to climate. The cold regions where mammoths lived preserved DNA better than the dodo’s tropical habitat did.
“Normally, scientists can compare many genomes to understand which genetic differences are responsible for certain traits,” Lamm told TechCrunch. “We don’t have that luxury with ancient DNA from extinct species whose DNA is severely limited, and we can only get a small number of complete genomes.”
GenoMorph is already part of the company’s attempt to revive the dodo. It combines comparative genomics, developmental biology, and advanced 3D morphology to find genes that might be edited when the available genetic data is sparse.
Building GenoMorph took more than a year, Lamm said, with the work also drawing on Colossal’s years of research into de-extinction. Researchers assembled developmental data from “chickens, quail, ducks, and pigeons” alongside “genetic information and 3D skull measurements from more than 70 bird species.”
Lamm explained how those inputs inform the predictions: “The AI learns which regions of DNA are active as different birds develop their beaks and facial structures, and uses that information to predict which genetic switches may have given the dodo its iconic appearance.” He described GenoMorph as a “treasure map for the dodo genome” that can help Colossal find only the genetic differences that matter, rather than searching through many potential differences.
Determining which genetic changes make an extinct species unique is one of Colossal’s biggest bottlenecks in de-extinction, Lamm said, and GenoMorph will help the company address it. A candidate edit alone doesn’t prove that a desired physical feature will result, though. He said scientists must still test the changes to establish whether they produce the traits sought.
To carry out such testing, Colossal has built a way to get editing tools into embryos, Lamm said. “We’ve developed a new system that uses lipid nanoparticles to deliver gene-editing tools directly into developing bird embryos,” he said. This would let researchers examine the effects of genetic changes on development “without having to wait through an entire breeding cycle that requires birds to reach sexual maturity.”
In another Wednesday update, Colossal said its Nicobar pigeon colony had reached 36 birds. It also reported successfully creating the essential cells that become eggs and sperm. Lamm explained their role: “Because the Nicobar pigeon is the dodo’s closest living relative, those cells are a critical part of our strategy for creating birds that carry dodo traits.”
Lamm said he was particularly excited by the way Colossal’s technologies were starting to come together. “What’s most exciting is that we’re reaching a point where the different technologies we’ve been developing are starting to converge together and help other projects we are working on in a completely different part of the tree of life,” he continued.
On the question of safety, Lamm described the aim behind GenoMorph as making genetic engineering “more precise, controlled, and testable.” The platform does not perform gene editing, he emphasized. Its job is to help the company’s researchers select genetic changes for closer examination.
“Identifying a potential edit doesn’t mean we immediately introduce it into an animal or assume it’s safe,” Lamm said. “The more precisely we can identify and validate these changes, the more informed our decisions become throughout the process.”
Separately on Wednesday, Peter Diamandis, the XPRIZE founder and a Colossal investor, announced that he had established NeoGenesis Capital. The venture capital firm will back businesses using Colossal Biosciences’ programmable biology platform in health, agriculture, and conservation.
As its next step, Colossal hopes to prove GenoMorph’s predictions in the laboratory, checking whether the suggested genetic changes can produce the dodo-like physical traits the company is trying to create.
