improving milk for human consumption through genetic engineering technologies

Improved living conditions, food security and particularly access to comprehensive health care systems resulted in a continuous increase of the human life expectancy. However, living longer does not immediately mean quality of life can be maintained into old age which is commonly compromised by disease and the full benefit of a longer life can only be realized when the later stages of live can be enjoyed in good health. This has generated strong demand for new innovative foods that are not only save and nutritious but also have health enhancing properties. Genetic modification technology provides a direct approach of enhancing existing attributes that are beneficial for human health, minimizing any undesirable characteristics or enabling the introduction of novel, health promoting traits. Focused on milk as an important human food source, we will review the humble beginnings of testing transgenic approaches with mouse models, transfer of these simple overexpression strategies into livestock species, application of programmable nucleases for the targeted modifications of milk characteristics and discuss future opportunities that are becoming feasible with today's sophisticated technical capabilities

Transgenic goats producing an improved version of cetuximab in milk [preprint]

Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) represent one of the most important classes of pharmaceutical proteins to treat human diseases. Most are produced in cultured mammalian cells which is expensive, limiting their availability. Goats, striking a good balance between a relatively short generation time and copious milk yield, present an alternative platform for the cost-effective, flexible, large-scale production of therapeutic mAbs. Here, we focused on cetuximab, a mAb against epidermal growth factor receptor, that is commercially produced under the brand name Erbitux and approved for anti-cancer treatments. We generated several transgenic goat lines that produce cetuximab in their milk. Two lines were selected for detailed characterization. Both showed stable genotypes and cetuximab production levels of up to 10g/L. The mAb could be readily purified and showed improved characteristics compared to Erbitux. The goat-produced cetuximab (gCetuximab) lacked a highly immunogenic epitope that is part of Erbitux. Moreover, it showed enhanced binding to CD16 and increased antibody-dependent cell-dependent cytotoxicity compared to Erbitux. This indicates that these goats produce an improved cetuximab version with the potential for enhanced effectiveness and better safety profile compared to treatments with Erbitux. In addition, our study validates transgenic goats as an excellent platform for large-scale production of therapeutic mAbs

Primary Transgenic Bovine Cells and Their Rejuvenated Cloned Equivalents Show Transgene-Specific Epigenetic Differences

Cell-mediated transgenesis, based on somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), provides the opportunity to shape the genetic make-up of cattle. Bovine primary fetal fibroblasts, commonly used cells for SCNT, have a limited lifespan, and complex genetic modifications that require sequential transfections can be challenging time and cost-wise. To overcome these limitations, SCNT is frequently used to rejuvenate the cell lines and restore exhausted growth potential. We have designed a construct to be used in a 2-step cassette exchange experiment. Our transgene contains a puromycin resistance marker gene and an enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) expression cassette, both driven by a strong mammalian promoter, and flanked by loxP sites and sequences from the bovine β-casein locus. Several transgenic cell lines were generated by random insertion into primary bovine cell lines. Two of these original cell lines were rederived by SCNT and new primary cells, with the same genetic makeup as the original donors, were established. While the original cell lines were puromycin-resistant and had a characteristic EGFP expression profile, all rejuvenated cell lines were sensitive to puromycin, and displayed varied EGFP expression, indicative of various degrees of silencing. When the methylation states of individual CpG sites within the transgene were analyzed, a striking increase in transgene-specific methylation was observed in all rederived cell lines. The results indicate that original transgenic donor cells and their rejuvenated derivatives may not be equivalent and differ in the functionality of their transgene sequences

Genome editing to the rescue: sustainably feeding 10 billion global human population

Modern animal breeding strategies based on population genetics, molecular tools, artificial insemination, embryo transfer and related technologies have contributed to significant increases in the performance of domestic animals, and are the basis for a regular supply of high quality animal derived food at acceptable prices. However, the current strategy of marker- assisted selection and breeding of animals to introduce novel traits over multiple generations is too pedestrian in responding to unprecedented challenges such as climate change, global pandemics, and feeding an anticipated 33% increase in global population in the next three decades. Here, we propose site-specific genome editing technologies as a basis for “directed” or “rational selection” of agricultural traits. The animal science community envisions genome editing as an essential tool in addressing critical priorities for global food security and environmental sustainability, and seeks additional funding support for development and implementation of these technologies for maximum societal benefit

The genomes of precision edited cloned calves show no evidence for off-target events or increased de novo mutagenesis

Abstract Background Animal health and welfare are at the forefront of public concern and the agricultural sector is responding by prioritising the selection of welfare-relevant traits in their breeding schemes. In some cases, welfare-enhancing traits such as horn-status (i.e., polled) or diluted coat colour, which could enhance heat tolerance, may not segregate in breeds of primary interest, highlighting gene-editing tools such as the CRISPR-Cas9 technology as an approach to rapidly introduce variation into these populations. A major limitation preventing the acceptance of CRISPR-Cas9 mediated gene-editing, however, is the potential for off-target mutagenesis, which has raised concerns about the safety and ultimate applicability of this technology. Here, we present a clone-based study design that has allowed a detailed investigation of off-target and de novo mutagenesis in a cattle line bearing edits in the PMEL gene for diluted coat-colour. Results No off-target events were detected from high depth whole genome sequencing performed in precursor cell-lines and resultant calves cloned from those edited and non-edited cell lines. Long molecule sequencing at the edited site and plasmid-specific PCRs did not reveal structural variations and/or plasmid integration events in edited samples. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis of de novo mutations across the edited and non-edited cloned calves revealed that the mutation frequency and spectra were unaffected by editing status. Cells in culture, however, appeared to have a distinct mutation signature where de novo mutations were predominantly C > A mutations, and in cloned calves they were predominantly T > G mutations, deviating from the expected excess of C > T mutations. Conclusions We found no detectable CRISPR-Cas9 associated off-target mutations in the gene-edited cells or calves derived from the gene-edited cell line. Comparison of de novo mutation in two gene-edited calves and three non-edited control calves did not reveal a higher mutation load in any one group, gene-edited or control, beyond those anticipated from spontaneous mutagenesis. Cell culture and somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning processes contributed the major source of contrast in mutational profile between samples

PCR primer pairs used for DNA methylation analysis.

a<p>all forward primers (top) included the following common sequence at the 5′ end: AGGAAGAGAG; all reverse primers (bottom) the sequence CAGTAATACGACTCACTATAGGGAGAAGGCT.</p

Transgene construct and cell line isolation and rederivation scheme.

<p>(a) The transgene construct is comprised of a puromycin-resistance gene (Puro) and an EGFP gene (EGFP), each driven by an individual TK promoter (pTK) and flanked firstly by a pair of incompatible lox sites (loxP, lox2272) and secondly homologous sequence arms of the bovine beta-casein promoter (5′ β-CN) and 3′ untranslated region (3′ β-CN). (b) Primary bovine cells were transfected and cell clones isolated following antibiotic selection. Two cell clones (A and B) were chosen as source for donor cells to generate embryos using SCNT. Following transfer into recipient cows for further in vivo development, two resulting fetuses generated from cell line A (fetus A1, A2) and cell line B (fetus B1 and B2) were used to isolate a series of rejuvenated primary cell lines with the same genetics as the original cell lines A (A1-1, A1-2, A2-3, A2-4, A2-5, A2-6) and B (B1-1, B1-2, B2-1).</p

Average methylation of the analyzed DNA sequences in rederived and original cell lines.

ab<p>values for the methylation within a specific region with these superscripts differ significantly; P<0.0005.</p>cd<p>values for the methylation within a specific region with these superscripts differ significantly; P<0.026.</p>ef<p>values for the methylation within a specific region with these superscripts differ significantly; P<0.009.</p>eg<p>the difference of the methylation values with these superscripts are just outside the significance level (P<0.052). The P-value is 0.007 with a t-test assuming equal variances.</p