Gene editing could give animals new features

OAKFIELD, N.Y. — Cows that can withstand hotter temperatures. Cows born without pesky horns. Pigs that never reach puberty.

A company wants to alter farm animals by adding and subtracting genetic traits in a lab. It sounds like science fiction, but Recombinetics sees opportunity for its technology in the livestock industry.

But first, it needs to convince regulators that gene-edited animals are no different than conventionally bred ones. To make the technology appealing and to ease any fears that it may be creating Franken-animals, Recombinetics isn’t starting with productivity. Instead, it’s introducing gene-edited traits as a way to ease animal suffering.

“It’s a better story to tell,” said Tammy Lee, CEO of the St. Paul, Minn.-based company.

For instance, animal welfare advocates have long criticized the way farmers use caustic paste or hot irons to dehorn dairy cows so the animals don’t harm each other. Recombinetics snips out the gene for growing horns so the procedure is unnecessary.

Last year, a bull gene-edited by Recombinetics to have the dominant hornless trait sired several offspring. All were born hornless as expected, and are being raised at the University of California, Davis. Once the female offspring starts lactating, its milk will be tested for any abnormalities.

Castration-free pigs

When male piglets go through puberty, their meat can take on an unpleasant odor, something known as “boar taint.” To combat it, farmers castrate pigs, a procedure animal welfare advocates say is commonly performed without painkillers. Editing genes so that pigs never go through puberty would make castration unnecessary.

Also in development are dairy cows that could withstand higher temperatures, so the animals don’t suffer in hotter climates. Once gene-editing is accepted by the public, farmers will be more interested in traits that step up productivity, Lee predicted.

Chickens as big as elephants

Before food from gene-edited animals can land on dinner tables, however, Recombinetics has to overcome any public unease about the technology.

Beyond worries about “playing God,” it may be an uncomfortable reminder of how modern food production already treats animals, said Paul Thompson, a professor of agriculture at Michigan State University.

“There’s an ethical question that’s been debated for at least the last 20 years,” Thompson said.

Support for gene editing will also likely depend on how the technology is used: whether it’s for animal welfare, productivity or disease resistance.

The Humane Society of the United States supports gene-editing to end pig castrations and cow dehorning but doesn’t give the technology its blanket approval.

“If you edit for your chicken to be the size of an elephant, that’s not good,” said Josh Balk, the group’s vice president of farm animal protection.

What’s the cost?

For now, a more practical challenge for Recombinetics will be coming up with geneedited traits farmers are willing to pay for. Semex says it will take at least two years of testing before it can start selling the hornless trait for dairy cows.

Jonathan Lamb, an owner of Oakfield Dairy in western New York, said he wouldn’t pay much extra for the hornless trait; he’s watching costs because of low milk prices. But he thinks gene-editing could offer other improvements. “I see that as a first step to other possibilities,” he said.