Biologist Unlocks Method to Sequence DNA of Rare and Extinct Species

RU-N Biology professor Sara Ruane, along with LSU Professor Chris Austin, recently discovered a way to extract and sequence DNA from rare and extinct animals preserved in historic museum collections. The breakthrough brings these once dormant specimens into the modern age of genomics, allowing scientists to start mapping the evolutionary relationships of various snake and other rare and extinct species, and furthering the study of the earth’s ever-changing biodiversity.