Chicken eggs are already used to harvest helpful proteins called antibodies to protect humans from viruses, such as influenza. Now, a breakthrough at the University of Missouri could one day lead to chickens that can consistently produce other useful medical proteins in their eggs.
In a new study, Missouri researchers solved a common issue in the field of avian genetics known as epigenetic silencing.
In the past, scientists have learned that if they insert a new gene into random places in a chicken’s DNA, the new gene may get “silenced” or turned off over time. Therefore, the chicken — and more importantly, its offspring — might either not inherit the benefit linked with the new gene or the benefit may diminish over time as the new gene gets passed down from generation to generation. That makes it difficult to create a stable line of genetically engineered chickens that produce useful medical proteins.
MU scientists tried a new approach to avoid epigenetic silencing. Using the gene-editing tool CRISPR, researchers focused on a specific enzyme that plays a key role in glucose metabolism inside a chicken cell. They attached a marker that glows green, allowing them to easily see whether a gene stays turned on.
“This work could ultimately support efforts to make a stable line of genetically engineered birds that lay many eggs, all of which will hopefully contain useful proteins that can be used in various clinical applications for human medicine,” said Kiho Lee, a professor in the university’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and study author.
“There could also be agricultural and economic implications of this work, too. With how devastating avian influenza is to birds, if a new gene segment that can mitigate transmission of the virus can be inserted into the chicken’s genome, we would want that new gene segment to stay on and get passed down from generation to generation.”
The research was published in Poultry Science. The study was funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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