Colossal Biosciences adds the bluebuck to its de-extinction roster
The Austin biotech named the extinct South African antelope as the sixth species in its de-extinction portfolio and its first project on mainland Africa.
AUSTIN — Colossal Biosciences, the genetic-engineering company known for its de-extinction work, announced on April 30, 2026 that it is targeting the bluebuck, an antelope native to what is now South Africa that was hunted to extinction more than two centuries ago. It is the sixth species in the company's portfolio and its first project on mainland Africa.
The company said it has obtained and mapped bluebuck DNA, drawn from a specimen in the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and compared it against the animal's closest living relatives. Colossal identified the sable and roan antelope as the nearest genetic kin and is using the roan as a cellular surrogate, editing its DNA to approximate the bluebuck's appearance, including its blue-gray pelt and long curved horns.
CEO Ben Lamm said the company is now in the final and most difficult phase of genomic editing, and that it aims to use the techniques to help fortify existing endangered populations as well.
Why it matters
Colossal is one of Austin's most valuable startups, and each new species announcement is both a scientific marker and a business one, extending a portfolio that underpins the company's conservation-technology pitch. Moving onto a new continent broadens the regulatory and partnership terrain Colossal has to navigate, and tests whether its much-publicized methods can travel beyond charismatic North American and Australian targets.
We've obtained the bluebuck's DNA, mapped it and compared it to its closest living relatives. We are now in the final and most difficult phase of genomic editing.— Ben Lamm, CEO, Colossal Biosciences
Reported by Next in Austin. Based on reporting from Axios.
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