June 20, 2018

expert reaction to genome-edited pigs for viral resistance

A new study, published in the Journal of Virology, demonstrates how scientists genome edited pigs so that they became resistant to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome.

Prof Darren Griffin, Professor of Genetics at the University of Kent, said:

“These results are generally good news from a food production point of view and from the perspective on animal welfare.  Of course there is a still a way to go in terms of efficacy and safety testing (especially long term) but the results of this study provide encouragement and hard evidence for an approach that could be applied in the future.  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.”

Prof Jonathan Ball, Professor of Molecular Virology at the University of Nottingham, said:

“This is a neat illustration of how the gene editing technique known as CRISPR/Cas can be used to manipulate a genome, in this case pigs, so that it becomes resistant to virus infection. The technique is being explored for the treatment and prevention of a variety of animal and human virus infections.

“The authors edit the pig genome so that a protein that usually allows the virus to enter the cell, has a piece missing, meaning it can no longer allow virus entry.  Importantly, the gene loss and associated resistance was not linked to any adverse disease in the pigs, at least not in the short-term, although the authors recognise the need to monitor pigs for a longer time to be sure that the edited genome has no detrimental effects on pig health.”

Duncan Berkshire, Veterinarian and President of the Pig Veterinary Society, said:

“I welcome this first step into providing an alternative way of controlling or eliminating this important production disease by producing PRRS-resistant pigs. It is through new developments like this that the pig sector can continue to make strides forward in achieving its aim of reducing the use of antibiotics in the future. Gene editing offers the potential to have huge impacts on the health and welfare of pigs worldwide, and I would encourage more research into this technology to confirm its safety and with regards the future challenges within the pig sector.”

* ‘Pigs lacking the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich domain 5 of CD163 are resistant to PRRSV-1 infection’ by Christine Burkard et al. published in the Journal of Virology on Wednesday 20 June 2018. 

Declared interests

Prof Darren Griffin: no interests to declare.

No others received.