Researchers have modified parts of chickens’ DNA to significantly prevent the transmission of bird flu without harming their health, an intervention that could prove a simple and cost-effective way to protect animals and humans from the disease, writes the Financial Times .
In a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature, researchers from the University of Edinburgh, Imperial College London and the Pirbright Institute showed how they modified the section of chicken DNA responsible for producing ANP32A, a protein that the flu virus takes over to reply, write G4Media.ro.
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Thus, chickens whose ANP32A molecule had been genetically modified were exposed to a normal dose of the H9N2-ULD strain of bird flu, and nine out of ten remained uninfected, without transmitting to other chickens.
The spread of bird flu is a growing concern for health authorities, animal welfare groups and food producers. More than 100 million animals were slaughtered last winter, and the spread to humans in a few isolated cases has fueled fears of a new pandemic.
James Wood, head of veterinary medicine at the University of Cambridge, who was not involved in the study, called the research a “breakthrough” that “provides an important proof-of-principle of the utility of gene editing in introducing genetic resistance to diseases caused by influenza in farm animals”.
The researchers exposed the birds to an “artificially high dose” of bird flu to further test their resistance. In this case, half of the birds were infected. But the intervention still offered some protection, with the viral load in the genetically modified group being “much lower” than that typically seen in birds with avian flu.
The gene-editing process also limited transmission to only one of the four non-edited chicks in the same hatchery. Among the genetically modified chickens, no transmission was recorded.
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The birds showed “no sign” that altering their DNA had affected their health or well-being.
The study had limitations, however. In chickens whose ANP32A molecule was altered, the virus used two related proteins to replicate. In laboratory tests, the scientists found that the virus could mutate using human cell cultures, but still remained at “low” levels, requiring several changes to spread effectively to humans.
The researchers found that the individual modification of ANP32A was not “robust enough to be applied in chicken production”, but they then modified an additional section of DNA in chicken cells grown in the laboratory. The virus was “successfully” blocked after three gene edits.
“The study highlights the importance of responsible gene modification and the need to be mindful of the risks of driving viral evolution in undesired directions if complete resistance is not achieved,” the researchers concluded.
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“The use of disease-resistant genetically modified chickens in agriculture would be an exciting development,” Wood said, adding that a much larger sample would be needed to successfully demonstrate that the intervention has no impact on animal health.
Wood cited a potential benefit to the global poultry industry, which could quickly introduce “flu-resistant chickens to many countries and continents.”
2023-10-11 06:30:11
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