Bird flu thing of the past? Scientists achieve major breakthrough with gene-editing

Scientists have used gene-editing technology to develop chickens with increased resistance to avian influenza. The research, published in Nature Communications, underscores genetic engineering as a potential method for mitigating the impact of bird flu, a threat to animals and humans.

Risk of avian influenza reduced but not completely eliminated

Despite the gene editing, some infections still occurred in the gene-edited chickens, particularly at high virus exposure levels.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The research serves as a proof of concept, offering hope for creating flu-resistant chickens, but more work is needed.

How the study was done?

CRISPR, a precise DNA-editing tool, was used to modify a chicken gene responsible for the ANP32A protein, which the flu virus exploits for replication. These edits showed no adverse health effects in the chickens.

Control chickens were infected when exposed to a mild flu virus, whereas gene-edited chickens exhibited resistance to infection, even when subjected to higher virus doses.

In high-dose scenarios, some mutations allowed the virus to adapt and utilize the edited ANP32A protein. While these mutations raised concerns, they alone weren't sufficient for the virus to adapt to humans.

The mutated flu virus could replicate in the absence of ANP32A by using other proteins in the same family. The researchers are now working on creating chickens with edits in all three genes of this protein family.

What does it mean?

Gene editing has long been touted as a technology with potential to eliminate the need for routine poultry vaccinations in a promising solution to disease resistance.

Also watch |WION Climate Tracker | Study: Climate impact labels could help people eat less red meat

The main question remains whether chickens with these edits will develop normally and grow at the desired rate. However, gene editing has shown enough promise in making hosts less susceptible to the flu, implying less stress to public health posed by avian flu outbreaks.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.