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The FDA approved the meat of genetically edited shorthair cows
Sergey Kolenov, N+1
On the left: a cow of the red Angus breed, shorthair due to mutation. On the right: an ordinary cow of the same breed. Mathew D. Littlejohn et al. / Nature Communication, 2014.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the meat of genetically edited PRLR-SLICK cows, according to a press release from the regulator. These animals differ from their relatives by a very short coat, thanks to which it is easier for them to survive hot weather. It is assumed that the meat of shorthair cows may appear on the shelves within two years.
Agriculture around the world is seriously affected by anthropogenic climate change. Traditional varieties of cultivated plants and livestock breeds do not cope well with the frequent heat waves, droughts and the spread of parasites and infections. For example, cows in hot weather are subject to heat stress, because of which they gain weight worse, give less milk and are reluctant to reproduce.
In an attempt to cope with these problems, scientists are increasingly resorting to gene editing of plants and animals. For example, a few years ago, New Zealand biologists used this technology to change the color of two Holstein calves from black and white to gray and white. It is assumed that it will be easier for clarified cows to survive the heat.
Specialists from the American company Acceligen (a subsidiary of Recombinetics) went the other way. They used the CRISPR/Cas9 tool to edit the gene responsible for hair length in red angus beef cows. As a result, the researchers were able to obtain individuals with very short hair, which should more effectively regulate body temperature in the heat. The edited version of the breed was named PRLR-SLICK.
In early March, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published the results of an inspection according to which eating PRLR-SLICK cow meat is associated with low health risks. Thus, eating short-haired red angus meat is as safe as regular beef. It should be noted that the decision concerns only two individuals created by Acceligen, as well as their descendants. Already in the next two years, the company plans to grow enough shorthair cows so that their meat appears on store shelves.
PRLR-SLICK cows are already the third genetically modified or edited animals whose meat has received approval from the FDA. Prior to that, a similar decision was made with regard to AquAdvantage Atlantic salmon, which, unlike wild relatives, grow all year round, and GalSafe pigs (their cells do not produce the galactose molecule-alpha-1,3-galactose, which can cause an allergic reaction).
Interestingly, the safety check of PRLR-SLICK cows took the FDA only a few months. For comparison, salmon and pig meat were evaluated for several years. The fact is that the mutation responsible for the development of short hair in cows occurs in some breeds of cattle bred using traditional breeding — and the fact that their meat can cause health problems has never been reported.
Genetically modified and genetically edited animals can be used not only as a source of meat. For example, in Germany, they plan to establish the breeding of GM pigs for transplantation of their hearts to people. And in the USA, at the beginning of this year, a genetically modified pig heart was transplanted to a human for the first time. After the operation, the patient lived for a little over two months.
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