Biasetti Pierfrancesco, Mercugliano Elena, Schrade Lisa, Spiriti Maria Michela, Göritz Frank, Holtze Susanne, Seet Steven, Galli Cesare, Stejskal Jan, Colleoni Silvia, Čižmár Daniel, Simone Raffaella, Hildebrandt Thomas B, de Mori Barbara
Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany; Ethics Laboratory for Veterinary Medicine, Conservation and Animal Welfare, Padua University, Padua, Italy.
Ethics Laboratory for Veterinary Medicine, Conservation and Animal Welfare, Padua University, Padua, Italy; Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, Padua University, Padua, Italy.
Cryobiology. 2024 Dec;117:104956. doi: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2024.104956. Epub 2024 Sep 13.
Genome Resources Banks (GRBs) represent vital repositories for the systematic collection, storage, and management of genetic material across various taxa, with a primary objective of safeguarding genetic diversity for research and practical applications. Alongside the development of assisted reproductive techniques (ART), GRBs have evolved into indispensable tools in conservation, offering opportunities for species preservation, mitigating inbreeding risks, and facilitating genetic management across fragmented populations. By preserving genetic information in a suspended state, GRBs serve as backups against population vulnerabilities, potentially aiding in the restoration of endangered species and extending their genetic lifespan. While evidence demonstrates the efficacy of GRBs, ethical considerations surrounding biobanking procedures for wildlife conservation remain largely unexplored. In this article, we will discuss possible ethical issues related to GRBs and the need to ethically monitor biobanking procedures in wildlife conservation. We will then propose a methodological tool, ETHAS, already in use for the ethical self-assessment of assisted reproduction techniques, to assess also biobanking procedures. ETHAS can make it possible to monitor a GRB from its design phase to its actual operation, helping to build biobanking procedures that meet high ethical standards.
基因组资源库（GRBs）是系统收集、存储和管理各类生物遗传物质的重要储存库，其主要目标是为研究和实际应用保护遗传多样性。随着辅助生殖技术（ART）的发展，基因组资源库已成为保护工作中不可或缺的工具，为物种保护、降低近亲繁殖风险以及促进碎片化种群的遗传管理提供了机会。通过将遗传信息保存在暂停状态，基因组资源库可作为应对种群脆弱性的备份，有可能帮助濒危物种的恢复并延长其遗传寿命。虽然有证据表明基因组资源库的有效性，但围绕野生动物保护生物样本库程序的伦理考量在很大程度上仍未得到探讨。在本文中，我们将讨论与基因组资源库相关的可能伦理问题，以及在野生动物保护中对生物样本库程序进行伦理监督的必要性。然后，我们将提出一种方法工具——ETHAS，该工具已用于辅助生殖技术的伦理自我评估，也可用于评估生物样本库程序。ETHAS能够对基因组资源库从设计阶段到实际运作进行监督，有助于构建符合高伦理标准的生物样本库程序。
