Cryopreservation of amphibian genomes: targeting the Holy Grail, cryopreservation of maternal haploid and embryonic diploid genomes

The irreversible loss of amphibian biodiversity has been well characterised and the main drivers identified (Stuart et al. 2004; Skerratt et al. 2007; Vredenburg et al. 2010; Bishop et al. 2012; Skerratt et al. 2016; Bower et al. 2017; Scheele et al. 2019) (Chapter 2). Recent estimates put the number of extinctions as high as 200 (Alroy 2015) with perhaps 90 of those due to chytridiomycosis alone (Scheele et al. 2019) and few strategies to prevent further chytrid-driven extinctions (Scheele et al. 2014; Clulow et al. 2018). As many as 40% of amphibian species may be threatened with extinction (Bishop et al. 2012). The pattern of amphibian decline has been particularly challenging to address, and mitigate against timely and effective conservation strategies. Common features of amphibian species’ decline include (1) rapid, unanticipated declines in populations that were not previously declining or being monitored, often in remote or undisturbed habitats; and (2) populations subjected to unrelenting destruction of habitat from economic pressures and expansion of human populations. The next phase of amphibian decline driven by climatic change is already underway (Rohr and Raffel 2010; Shoo et al. 2011).