Research overview: cryopreservation as a tool to retain genetic diversity

Small managed felid populations gradually lose genetic diversity through drift and the death of founders, and cryopreservation offers a way to slow this erosion. This overview surveys how banking gametes and embryos preserves the genetic contributions of individuals for future reintroduction into the breeding pool, effectively extending generation time and retaining alleles that would otherwise be lost. It reviews modeling that estimates how much diversity banking can preserve and how reintroducing banked genetics counteracts inbreeding. The review connects cryopreservation to long-term population viability. Understanding cryopreservation as a diversity-retention tool clarifies its role not as a substitute for healthy populations but as a strategic complement that buffers against unavoidable genetic loss over time.