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Thursday, June 21, 2018 –
2:43pm
Scottish scientists from the same institute that created Dolly
the Sheep have genetically modified pigs that are resistant to one
of the world’s costliest livestock diseases.
But the breakthrough by scientists from the University of
Edinburgh “poses a headache for ministers, because the technology
for carrying out gene surgery on livestock is advancing so rapidly
that public opinion and the law have not caught up”, says The Times.
What disease are the scientists targeting?
The new pigs appear to be completely resistant to the porcine
reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus, “which causes
the lungs of adult pigs to clog up with immune cells and can
‘mummify’ piglets in the womb”, says The Times. PRRS is endemic
across the world and there is no viable treatment, while vaccines
are ineffective. Dealing with an outbreak in a herd of 500 breeding
pigs costs an average of around £145,000.
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The team of scientists used the Crispr gene editing technique
“to remove a small section of the CD163 gene, which carries a
receptor that the virus likes to latch on to”, says The Daily Telegraph.
After exposing the pigs to the virus, “they found none became
ill and blood tests showed no trace of the infection”, the
newspaper reports.
What’s different about the pigs?
Unlike genetically modified livestock, which contain small
amounts of genetic material from other species, the pigs have
simply had a short section of their DNA taken out in order to give
them immunity to the virus.
“It’s important for the public to know that this animal is not
what we call ‘transgenic’,” Christine Tait-Burkard, lead author of
the study, said. “It doesn’t contain any foreign DNA. It’s 100% pig
DNA in there still.”
What are the potential repercussions?
The breakthrough means that the first genetically engineered
sausages and bacon could, in theory, find their way onto breakfast
tables by the early 2020s.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove has already signalled that
genetically modified animals could be sold in Britain once the
country quits the European Union.
But “it remains unclear whether gene-edited food will become a
common sight in shops, or whether it will face a regulatory
backlash and be spurned by consumers”, says The Times.
The US “has paved the way by approving a salmon engineered to
grow twice as fast as normal, which recently became the first GM
animal ruled safe to eat”, adds the Daily Mirror.
Jonathan Lightner, chief scientific officer for
animal
genetics company Genus, said: “These
results are very exciting and further underscore the potential,
through gene editing, to provide incredible benefits to the global
pork industry, and society as a whole, by improving animal
health.”
What are the ethical concerns?
Genetically modified animals are banned from the food chain in
the UK and throughout Europe, “but it is not clear whether these
regulations would apply to gene-edited animals, since the
technology and resultant genetic changes are different”, says
The Guardian.
“These results are exciting but it will still likely be several
years before we’re eating bacon sandwiches from PRRS-resistant
pigs,” said researcher Tait-Burkard.
“First and foremost we need broader public discussion on the
acceptability of gene-edited meat entering our food chain, to help
inform political leaders on how these techniques should be
regulated.”
Darren Griffin, professor of genetics at the University of Kent,
told The Guardian: “In general terms there is still public concern
about gene editing in the food that we consume, but this needs to
be countered by hard evidence from well-designed studies. Alarmist
titles such as ‘Frankenstein foods’ should play no part in the
discussion.”
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