Agriculture is constantly trying to meet the challenges of a growing global population while doing so with sustainable methods. And that’s where scientific research and cutting-edge technology can come into play. Together, they can offer groundbreaking potential and innovative techniques that could possibly pave the way for healthier animals as well as a reduced impact on the environment.

In the fall, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine announced the creation of four Animal and Veterinary Innovation Centers (AVICs). These centers will receive funding to advance regulatory science and support the development of innovative products and approaches to improve animal health and veterinary care. These AVICs further the goals outlined in the FDA’s Animal and Veterinary Innovation Agenda (AVIA), which describes the agency’s plans to spur innovation to better protect human and animal health.

The University of California, Davis is one of those four institutions nationwide selected to receive funding and to establish an Animal and Veterinary Innovation Center to help spur innovation and advance regulatory decisions.

UC Davis was chosen to receive a grant for their proposal which centered on work on Intentional Genomic Alterations (IGAs) in major livestock species to advance the use of gene editing technologies in food animals.  The UC Davis Intentional Genomic Alteration Innovation Center will focus on genome editing in livestock such as pigs, sheep, and cattle. Its goal is to support science-based regulations that demonstrate the safety of this technology and enable the use of gene-edited animals for human consumption.

“We want to move the world of gene editing forward,” said Dr. Elizabeth Maga, a professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at UC Davis, and lead investigator of the center said. “And this grant will certainly help us to do that.”

Associate professor Anna Denicol and distinguished professor Dr. Trish Berger in the Department of Animal Science are also part of the center, as is animal geneticist and cooperative extension specialist Alison Van Eenennaam.

The $5 million, five-year collaboration with the FDA aims to address key regulatory questions about gene editing, exploring how it can enhance animal health and productivity while ensuring human safety and promoting sustainable agriculture.

“This is a significant amount of money which, will allow us to do a lot of research that we’ve been wanting to do,” Dr. Berger said. “And now we can do this research much more efficiently.”

Kansas State University, University of Arkansas and University of Wisconsin-Madison will also form centers as part of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine initiative to protect human and animal health, according to a news release.
 

What is gene editing?

Gene editing in agriculture is a technology used to make precise changes to the DNA of plants or animals to improve traits. This involves altering specific genes to achieve desired outcomes, such as better disease resistance, faster growth, or improved nutritional value.

Diseases can cause substantial agriculture losses every year. The hope is that gene editing can create plants and animals that are more resistant to common threats, reducing reliance on antibiotics and supporting environmental sustainability.

“This is one of the tools in the toolbox for farmers to improve their animals to better supply food to a growing population,” Dr. Maga said. “And this grant signals that there is a push to find ways to incorporate biotechnology such as gene editing as part of this strategy to improve animals for human food consumption.”

Cutting edge goals

The UC Davis team has three main research goals. The first goal is to create a benchmark in terms of workflow that outlines the techniques and methods for assessing gene editing specificity, helping to distinguish between natural genetic variation and any unintended edits.

The second involves measuring the durability of gene editing across generations, different traits, and livestock species to check for any unintended variations. Researchers will also assess whether the desired traits were successfully introduced or removed.

“We’ll look to see how the edits hold up over time,” Dr. Maga said.

Finally, the team aims to adapt and enhance gene editing technologies used in humans and lab animals for biomedical purposes, applying them to livestock traits.

“Our main goal is to demonstrate that the technology of gene editing is safe both to the animals and to the consumers of the food and so we’re working to generate data that will show that animals that are gene edited are safe to eat,” Dr. Maga said.

Dr. Berger added that, “From the grant point of view, if we can show the transference through multiple generations, of healthy animals and along with the other work our colleagues are doing, in terms of off target edits, it means we may be able to take advantage of the tremendous improvements and efficiencies in animal welfare as a result of gene editing.”

Kansas State, Texas A&M, and Purdue University are also collaborating on this research. Three graduate students at UC Davis and two interns that work in Dr. Maga’s lab are also working on this research.  

“All of us that are involved in this grant have been working in gene editing and genetic engineering for many years.” Dr. Maga said. “I’ve been working on it for my entire career, for more than 24 years, so this grant is really exciting because to me this signals that we’re getting closer to having these animals to address issues in agricultural production such as welfare issues, productivity issues, and the environmental impact of animals.”