Scientists have made chickens stronger with genetic editing

For work, the researchers used the genomic editor CRISPR / Cas9. Before that, they had been studying avian leukemia virus (ALV) for many years. Its danger is that the virus causes the development of cancerous tumors in hens. Recently, a new outbreak of the disease in poultry has occurred in China and Southeast Asia.

First, scientists edited the sex cells extracted from the body of roosters. Then they returned them back to the birds, and they continued the genus, giving offspring with altered DNA.

After editing one gene – chNHE1 – scientists tried to infect the birds with the virus, but they turned out to be absolutely resistant to it.

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