US admins give green light to gene-edited pig sausages for human consumption

Oftentimes, selecting one particular desirable trait (like bigger adults) can also introduce other unforeseen issues that could be less desirable. However, the advent of CRISPR could provide us with a means of better selective breeding by only targeting the genes for the particular traits we want without the baggage of other problems.

It's worth noting that gene editing of this kind is a relatively recent practice, and as of now, the FDA has only given approval for a select few gene-edited animals to be consumed by humans.

These include heat-resistant beef cattle and pigs, which are safe for people with the alpha-gal syndrome to eat, as they won't trigger any severe allergic reactions. Researchers at WSU have been granted investigational approval by the FDA to provide people with meat from a new line of genetically engineered pigs that are sterile.

The concept may seem counterintuitive, but it involves utilizing sterile male pigs as "surrogate sires" for selective breeding purposes. To this end, the WSU team utilized CRISPR to disable a specific gene, resulting in the males becoming sterile. They then proceeded to implant sperm-producing stem cells from a different pig into these males. As a result, the previously infertile males were able to produce offspring that carried the genes of the sperm-cell donor pig.

In theory, this method enables farmers to increase the number of offspring from a pig with several desirable characteristics beyond what is achievable with just its sperm. Thus, the valuable pig's reproductive capabilities are effectively transferred to other pigs. These pigs have since been slaughtered, with some meat sent to the FDA for investigation, and the rest turned into German-style sausages for sale.

"With this technology, we can get better dissemination of desirable traits and improve the efficiency of food production," lead researcher Jon Oatley told WSU News in 2020. "This can have a major impact on addressing food insecurity around the world," the added. The sausage produced by the WSU team has received FDA approval as the first gene-edited meat that was not developed by a private company. The researchers are optimistic that this approval will boost public confidence in the scientific validity of gene-edited animals.

"There's a trust that comes with university-based research," said Oatley. "At WSU, we're all about the science. We just want to make sure the research is valid, and the animals we produce are healthy," they added.