The dire wolf DNA used to create three “proxy” dire wolves started with a project led by a prehistoric canid expert at Chronicle Heritage.
Dr. Angela Perri, Regional Vice President (International) at Chronicle Heritage and foremost expert on human-canine interactions, initially extracted DNA from ancient bones for the purpose of a groundbreaking genetic analysis of extinct dire wolves. The study, led by Perri, found that dire wolves diverged from other canids millions of years ago. These findings were published in the research journal Nature in 2021: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03082-x
“Before our paper in 2021, no one had managed to get DNA from a dire wolf. Up until then, we didn’t know the details of their ancestry. We assumed they were just closely related to grey wolves,” said Perri, who was the lead author of the paper. “When we managed to get DNA, it was a big deal because the results showed that they’re much more distantly related to grey wolves than we thought.”
Following the successful extraction of this DNA by Perri’s team, biotech company Colossal Bioscience used these same sample specimens to edit the gray wolf genome, creating “proxy” dire wolf puppies with some of the traits of the extinct dire wolf, including large bodies and light fur color. In total, Colossal made 20 edits to 14 genes.
New Preprint Updates Divergence Date, Cites Hybridization
A new preprint based on additional research using the dire wolf DNA was recently published to bioRxiv: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.09.647074v1. The paper, which Perri co-authored, updates the dire wolf divergence date from other canids from 6 million to 4.5 million years ago.
The preprint also cites evidence that dire wolves interbred with the ancestors of gray wolves 3 million years ago, leading to hybridization: https://www.science.org/content/article/what-s-deal-dire-wolves-iconic-predators-may-have-been-neanderthals-wolf-world.
In this way, said Perri, dire wolves are “the Neanderthals of the wolf world.”
Perri believes that Colossal’s desire to de-extinct dire wolves came from these two DNA analyses.
“Our 2021 paper and the current preprint paper form the basis of understanding of dire wolves, leading to Colossal’s recent announcement of the dire wolf proxy puppies,” she said.
Perri also believes that the puppies and the technology used to create them can be critical in the fight to save endangered species.
“Our research into dire wolves and other extinct megafauna is crucial to understanding the relationship between humans, environments, and climatic change in the past and present,” she said.
“The Dog Story is the Human Story”
Perri has always had an interest in the relationship between humans and canids. Her Ph.D. dissertation and research work since have explored that interest even further.
“I have been exploring the history of the human and canine relationship for almost 20 years. From wolves and prehistoric humans hunting alongside each other,” she said. “To the domestication of the dog and their evolution into our best friend. The dog story is the human story.”
In her role as Regional Vice President (International), Perri oversees the Chronicle Heritage Arabia office based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Her canid research has included work on some of the earliest depictions of dogs in the archaeological record, located in the rock art of Saudi Arabia: https://www.science.org/content/article/these-may-be-world-s-first-images-dogs-and-they-re-wearing-leashes.