A first report of organoids derived from rhinoceros endometrium

Cell culture models that recapitulate key features of the tissue of interest are widely used in domestic and laboratory animals to reduce the time and financial cost of evaluating physiological and pathological reproductive conditions. Model systems are particularly advantageous for endangered species because performing reproductive experiments to better understand normal physiology and/or disease states must be secondary to producing offspring for the survival of the species. Here we describe a first report of endometrial organoid culture from tissues of two rhinoceros species ( Rhinoceros unicornis and Diceros bicornis minor ). Organoids from the greater one-horned rhinoceros did not proliferate in culture, and organoids from the southern black rhinoceros proliferated slowly and had a smaller, more dense morphology than either equine or bovine endometrial organoids cultured under the same conditions. This report highlights the importance of biobanking somatic reproductive tissues from endangered species to better understand their normal physiology and disease states and as a resource to potentially improve assisted reproductive technologies. ● Model systems for endangered species are critical to better understand normal physiology and/or disease states. ● Organoid cell cultures must be optimized for each cell type and species. ● This is a first report of attempting endometrial organoid generation from post-mortem tissues of two rhinoceros species.