When to cryopreserve and when to let it go? A systematic review of priorities in wild animal cryobanking

With increasing numbers of species threatened with extinction, collecting and conserving living samples is important for the long-term conservation of animal populations. Globally, many cryobanks have been developed to preserve animal tissues for future use in wildlife conservation. However, to date...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: James Edward Brereton, Sarah Louise Spooner, Susan L. Walker, Andrew Mooney, Philippe Wilson, Gabriela F. Mastromonaco, Elena Hunter, Samuel White
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Theriogenology Wild
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773093X25000017
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832582101122154496
author James Edward Brereton
Sarah Louise Spooner
Susan L. Walker
Andrew Mooney
Philippe Wilson
Gabriela F. Mastromonaco
Elena Hunter
Samuel White
author_facet James Edward Brereton
Sarah Louise Spooner
Susan L. Walker
Andrew Mooney
Philippe Wilson
Gabriela F. Mastromonaco
Elena Hunter
Samuel White
author_sort James Edward Brereton
collection DOAJ
description With increasing numbers of species threatened with extinction, collecting and conserving living samples is important for the long-term conservation of animal populations. Globally, many cryobanks have been developed to preserve animal tissues for future use in wildlife conservation. However, to date, there has been no attempt to review the purpose, priorities and direction of these cryobanks. A systematic review was undertaken using Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar to determine the most common priorities identified in the cryobanking literature. The types of species being recommended for cryobanking, cell types, and recommended numbers of samples and number of individuals were also recorded for cryobanking efforts. Overall, 13,287 papers were identified, of which 794 were selected for full-text review. For wildlife, the most frequently cited priority was to select based on threat level, with convenience sampling and genetic diversity featuring as the second and third most common priorities. In terms of cell type, sperm featured most frequently in cryobanking literature, potentially due to its ease of use in animal breeding programmes. Somatic cells and stem cells featured more commonly in more recently published literature. Looking ahead, cryobanks should consider their priorities and records to ensure they are collecting samples with a meaningful use for future conservation efforts. Greater collaboration between cryobanks can aid in important sample acquisition and storage and in sharing cryopreservation priorities.
format Article
id doaj-art-7399a6eb7f0e4d88b87659df4cbfae55
institution Kabale University
issn 2773-093X
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Theriogenology Wild
spelling doaj-art-7399a6eb7f0e4d88b87659df4cbfae552025-01-30T05:15:19ZengElsevierTheriogenology Wild2773-093X2025-01-016100119When to cryopreserve and when to let it go? A systematic review of priorities in wild animal cryobankingJames Edward Brereton0Sarah Louise Spooner1Susan L. Walker2Andrew Mooney3Philippe Wilson4Gabriela F. Mastromonaco5Elena Hunter6Samuel White7School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom; Chester Zoo, Upton-By-Chester, Chester, United Kingdom; Corresponding author at: School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom.Chester Zoo, Upton-By-Chester, Chester, United Kingdom; School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Science, Nottingham Trent University, United KingdomChester Zoo, Upton-By-Chester, Chester, United KingdomDublin Zoo, Phoenix Park, Dublin, IrelandYork Saint Johns University, York, United KingdomToronto Zoo, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaMedical Technologies Innovation Facility, Nottingham Trent University, United KingdomYork Saint Johns University, York, United KingdomWith increasing numbers of species threatened with extinction, collecting and conserving living samples is important for the long-term conservation of animal populations. Globally, many cryobanks have been developed to preserve animal tissues for future use in wildlife conservation. However, to date, there has been no attempt to review the purpose, priorities and direction of these cryobanks. A systematic review was undertaken using Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar to determine the most common priorities identified in the cryobanking literature. The types of species being recommended for cryobanking, cell types, and recommended numbers of samples and number of individuals were also recorded for cryobanking efforts. Overall, 13,287 papers were identified, of which 794 were selected for full-text review. For wildlife, the most frequently cited priority was to select based on threat level, with convenience sampling and genetic diversity featuring as the second and third most common priorities. In terms of cell type, sperm featured most frequently in cryobanking literature, potentially due to its ease of use in animal breeding programmes. Somatic cells and stem cells featured more commonly in more recently published literature. Looking ahead, cryobanks should consider their priorities and records to ensure they are collecting samples with a meaningful use for future conservation efforts. Greater collaboration between cryobanks can aid in important sample acquisition and storage and in sharing cryopreservation priorities.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773093X25000017ConservationCryobankCryopreservationPrioritisationZooWildlife
spellingShingle James Edward Brereton
Sarah Louise Spooner
Susan L. Walker
Andrew Mooney
Philippe Wilson
Gabriela F. Mastromonaco
Elena Hunter
Samuel White
When to cryopreserve and when to let it go? A systematic review of priorities in wild animal cryobanking
Theriogenology Wild
Conservation
Cryobank
Cryopreservation
Prioritisation
Zoo
Wildlife
title When to cryopreserve and when to let it go? A systematic review of priorities in wild animal cryobanking
title_full When to cryopreserve and when to let it go? A systematic review of priorities in wild animal cryobanking
title_fullStr When to cryopreserve and when to let it go? A systematic review of priorities in wild animal cryobanking
title_full_unstemmed When to cryopreserve and when to let it go? A systematic review of priorities in wild animal cryobanking
title_short When to cryopreserve and when to let it go? A systematic review of priorities in wild animal cryobanking
title_sort when to cryopreserve and when to let it go a systematic review of priorities in wild animal cryobanking
topic Conservation
Cryobank
Cryopreservation
Prioritisation
Zoo
Wildlife
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773093X25000017
work_keys_str_mv AT jamesedwardbrereton whentocryopreserveandwhentoletitgoasystematicreviewofprioritiesinwildanimalcryobanking
AT sarahlouisespooner whentocryopreserveandwhentoletitgoasystematicreviewofprioritiesinwildanimalcryobanking
AT susanlwalker whentocryopreserveandwhentoletitgoasystematicreviewofprioritiesinwildanimalcryobanking
AT andrewmooney whentocryopreserveandwhentoletitgoasystematicreviewofprioritiesinwildanimalcryobanking
AT philippewilson whentocryopreserveandwhentoletitgoasystematicreviewofprioritiesinwildanimalcryobanking
AT gabrielafmastromonaco whentocryopreserveandwhentoletitgoasystematicreviewofprioritiesinwildanimalcryobanking
AT elenahunter whentocryopreserveandwhentoletitgoasystematicreviewofprioritiesinwildanimalcryobanking
AT samuelwhite whentocryopreserveandwhentoletitgoasystematicreviewofprioritiesinwildanimalcryobanking