{"id":772825,"date":"2026-07-01T20:46:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/772825\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T20:46:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:46:16","slug":"queenslands-first-koala-egg-and-sperm-bank-created-to-preserve-genetic-diversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/772825\/","title":{"rendered":"Queensland’s first koala egg and sperm bank created to preserve genetic diversity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queensland’s first koala egg and sperm bank is being established at a regional university campus in an effort to preserve the genetic diversity of the endangered marsupial.<\/p>\n

A team of scientists and biologists at the Gatton campus of the University of Queensland (UQ) are working with wildlife hospitals to gather samples from dying koalas, which can be cryo-preserved \u2014 or frozen \u2013as a “genetic safety net”.<\/p>\n

Reproductive biologist Andres Gambini said, without the samples, crucial koala genetics could be lost forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"andres<\/p>\n

Andres Gambini says the project is crucial for preserving the genetic diversity of koalas. (Supplied: University of Queensland)<\/p>\n

“Biobanking is very, very crucial in species that are endangered, like the koala,” Dr Gambini said.<\/p>\n

“The more genetic diversity you have within the population, the better the species can adjust and adapt to changes like environmental changes, heat, stress, fire, disease.”<\/p>\n

The harvested sperm and egg cells would be stored so that, in the future, scientists could use that genetic material for artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation (IVF).<\/p>\n

“Hopefully \u2026 we can transfer those embryos into koala females that can carry on the gestation of an embryo that was produced in the lab,” Dr Gambini said.<\/p>\n

“[It’s] very similar to what’s being done in other domestic animals or even humans.”<\/p>\n

Saving Australia’s iconic animals<\/p>\n

The Gatton biobank will be stocked with reproductive samples taken from the testes and ovaries of dead or dying koalas.<\/p>\n

The scientists have partnered with the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital on the Gold Coast, which will provide the genetic material from koalas that were beyond saving.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

The Currumbin Wildlife Hospital treats injured native wildlife, including koalas. (Supplied: University of Queensland)<\/p>\n

Michael Pyne from the wildlife hospital said they treated about 400 koalas a year.<\/p>\n

“They are really struggling; there are many challenges for koalas that are not just habitat loss,” Dr Pyne said.<\/p>\n

A chlamydia epidemic, feral animal attacks and vehicle strikes are causing koala numbers to dwindle. The RSPCA has warned the species<\/a> could be wiped out entirely from south-east Queensland in the “not too distant future”.<\/p>\n

Dr Pyne said it was “really embarrassing” that one of Australia’s most iconic native animals was listed as endangered.<\/p>\n

“I often say, ‘If we can’t be bothered to save koalas, what can we be bothered to save?'” Dr Pyne said.<\/p>\n

He agreed with Dr Gambini that genetic diversity was the key to saving the koala population.<\/p>\n

“There may be some very key genetics that, through preservation, we can bring back later, that could make a big difference in the future,” Dr Pyne said.<\/p>\n

Future proofing genetics<\/p>\n

Once scientists identify key genetic material, they categorise the samples by the health and “genetic merit” of the animal.<\/p>\n

“Let’s say in 20 years we want to use that sample,” Dr Gambini said.<\/p>\n

“We can easily find it within our frozen bank.”<\/p>\n

\"two<\/p>\n

Patricio Dandy Palacios (left) and Andres Gambini with the liquid nitrogen tank used to store samples.\u00a0 (Supplied: University of Queensland)<\/p>\n

Last year, Dr Gambini led a UQ team to successfully produce the first kangaroo embryo <\/a>through IVF.<\/p>\n

He said while a successful live birth through the process was at least a decade away, they were making progress with creating embryos in different species.<\/p>\n

“We do IVF in cattle, horses, pigs, donkeys and cats. Now, we’ve slowly moved into the marsupial world,” Dr Gambini said.<\/p>\n

Keeping koalas chlamydia-free<\/p>\n

The prevalence of chlamydia in koalas continues to be a significant barrier to the species’ survival.<\/p>\n

Dr Pyne said chlamydial disease could not only kill koalas, but could also render them infertile.<\/p>\n

“When you have an endangered species and many of those animals can’t breed, it’s not a good combination because we need them breeding to get those numbers back up,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Koalas are listed as endangered in Australia. (Supplied: University of Queensland)<\/p>\n

Part of the UQ research is to identify the presence of chlamydia bacteria in the reproductive samples.<\/p>\n

“Whenever we want to use that [sample], we can create embryos or use sperm from animals that we know don’t have the presence of that bacteria,” Dr Gambini said.<\/p>\n

Freeing future koala populations from the venereal disease would go a long way to ensuring the species survived, Dr Pyne added.<\/p>\n

“There’s a long way to go but \u2026 we don’t want to miss these opportunities to preserve whatever genetics we can,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queensland’s first koala egg and sperm bank is being established at a regional university campus in an effort…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":772826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,321184,367037,51797,262664,137,5815,50155,89203,67288],"class_list":["post-772825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-currumbin-wildlife-hospital","tag-dr-andres-gambini","tag-egg","tag-gatton","tag-health","tag-ivf","tag-koala","tag-sperm","tag-university-of-queensland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=772825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/772826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=772825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=772825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=772825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}