With the advent of novel genome editing tools, such as CRISPR/Cas9 and more recently Prime editing, genome editing has become more convenient than ever. Even Bio-hackers are applying this technology through various DIY projects ( Unnatural Selection, Netflix, 2019). But in case of livestock, GE is not much popular yet. The only commercially approved GMA is "Salmon". The research on GE in livestock is directed solely towards monogenic traits, that too in a very experimental phase (Llamas Torenzo review, 2018). Why can not we just "bypass" selective breeding and "cut" and "paste" our desired genes to design the perfect animal (cow, sheep, etc.) whose traits will be heritable?
Why can not we benefit from these technologies in a commercial setting?
Thank you, Anna Wolc, for suggesting this commentary.
"The commercial egg producer expects continuous performance improvements each generation from the chicken varieties placed in production facilities. Increasing costs of replacement birds to cover novel technologies is not an acceptable market plan, as evidenced by the difficulties in recovering the higher costs associated with genomic selection."
I think this segment (and some other segments) of the article explains it all, why GE has not been applied commercially. However, can we not explore possibilities other than discovering gene function and gene inter-relationships with CRISPR?
You can cut/paste gene in animals if there are no regulations about the genetic modification in your country. No one will stop you, and there will not be any constraints.
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