CRISPR-based genome editing has already been successfully applied to sickle cell disease and additional companies are working on developing their CRISPR-based therapeutics. It seems only natural that the technology would make its way to animals. Now a team of scientists at Genus, a British animal genetics company with research facilities in Wisconsin and Tennessee, have developed a new generation of CRISPR-edited pigs that are resistant to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus, a disease that has had a widespread impact on porcine populations around the world for decades.

Details of exactly how the pigs were edited are published in a new report published in The CRISPR Journal titled, “Generation of a Commercial-Scale Founder Population of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Resistant Pigs Using CRISPR-Cas.”

Genus works on improving the genetics of livestock to ensure healthy, robust pigs and cattle for agricultural production, Elena Rice, PhD, Genus’ CSO and head of research and development and a co-author on the paper told GEN. “Livestock have a lot of diseases, and there are several that [are] just really devastating for farmers,” Rice said. Until the recent emergence of African swine flu, PRRS infections topped that list.

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