San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s Frozen Zoo® is one of six subcollections in our Wildlife Biodiversity Bank. The Frozen Zoo is a repository of living cell lines and gametes cryopreserved at -320°F. Established in 1975, this visionary biodiversity bank was launched at a time when the potential uses of cryopreserved genetic materials were not yet realized. Today, the Frozen Zoo is the most extensive collection of its kind in the world, and it is an invaluable resource in advancing conservation. The Frozen Zoo is about more than preserving genetic materials—it is about preserving hope for the future of Earth’s wildlife.
Earth needs genetic diversity
Genetic diversity is the biological foundation for species survival. It is the raw material that makes nature resilient, equipping wildlife with the potential to adapt to changing environments and resist threats like climate change and diseases.
However, as wildlife populations around the world decline, so does genetic diversity, and the need for safeguards becomes both urgent and essential. The Frozen Zoo is genetic insurance: by banking biomaterials, we secure genetic diversity and enable a future where disappearing species are recovered, ecosystems are restored, and breakthroughs are made possible.
The Frozen Zoo is a vital resource
The Frozen Zoo represents a library of biological information that will be available to generations of future scientists. We receive and share samples and data with researchers worldwide, and access to these biomaterials has been crucial to studies of ecology, evolution, genomics, and the health of wildlife and people. These studies are fostering an unprecedented understanding of life on earth.
Cryopreserved materials also create limitless potential for genetic rescue, a strategy that reintroduces lost genetic diversity back into populations through cutting-edge approaches such as conservation cloning, genetic engineering, and advanced reproductive technologies. The samples in the Frozen Zoo unlock the power of genetic rescue, providing a lifeline for threatened and endangered species.
Milestones of innovation and impact
The Frozen Zoo is a game-changing force at the intersection of science, conservation, and innovation. Groundbreaking milestones demonstrate the value of biodiversity banks as a resource for hope and progress. Some of the remarkable advances made possible by the Frozen Zoo include:
Safeguarding genetic diversity
The Frozen Zoo contains over 11,500 cell lines, representing more than 1,300 species and subspecies, as well as over 2,300 gametes, representing over 470 species and subspecies. Within each of these samples lies the potential to protect and restore wildlife and ecosystems.
Cloning critically endangered species
Clones from two critically endangered species—black-footed ferret and Przewalski’s horse—have been borne from cells banked in the Frozen Zoo decades earlier. These individuals prove that genetic material from the past can rebuild a species’ future by reintegrating lost genetic diversity.
Genomic discovery
Leveraging the exceptional biodiversity housed in Frozen Zoo samples, scientists have generated dozens of reference genomes that fuel studies on extinction risk, adaptation, and even COVID-19 susceptibility across species.
Marine conservation innovation
We pioneered the biobanking of sunflower sea star gametes, creating a safeguard for this rapidly disappearing species against deadly disease. We are expanding these innovative cryopreservation methods to protect other marine wildlife, such as jellyfish and kelp, to ensure that ecosystems remain balanced.
Conserving plants
We preserved Nuttall’s scrub oak cells, marking the first plant species added to the Frozen Zoo and the first time this endangered tree has been cryobanked. This supports state-wide collaborative efforts to preserve all of California's rare and threatened plant taxa.
Biobanking for the world
Building on the skills and expertise honed through the Frozen Zoo, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is collaborating with local partners to facilitate cryopreservation access, capacity, and training around the world. We partnered with the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission to form the Center for Species Survival: Biodiversity Banking. The Center serves as a global platform for amplifying biodiversity banking learnings and applications. We are committed to nurturing a sustainable, inclusive future for biobanking.
Be a part of biodiversity banking
On a limited basis, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance makes Frozen Zoo samples available for non-commercial, high-value conservation projects. Collaborators seeking to conduct impactful conservation research with Frozen Zoo materials can contact our Biomaterials Review Group (brg@sdzwa.org) for more information.
Parties interested in partnering with the Center for Species Survival: Biodiversity Banking to help catalyze biodiversity banking access and growth can connect with us at CSS-Biobanking@sdzwa.org.
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