Gene knock in is a process by which the geneticists insert a gene of interest into the genetic material of an organism. The latest achievement in this field is the production of a male calf using this process, who will be capable of producing more male offspring than females.
Scientists at University
of California, Davis used CRISPR technology to insert the gene of desire SRY
into the chromosome No. 17 of this beef breed calf. This was not so simple, but
the whole process took almost 4 years to be employed successfully.
The earlier attempts were
to insert the SRY gene into X chromosome of the calf at embryo stage which was unsuccessful.
If it ever happened, we would have been at a stage where a male calf would
produce only male calves, but it didn’t happen.
What is SRY gene?
SRY gene is not actual
sex determining gene but it imparts male characteristics to an individual. It mean
an individual with SRY gene will look and behave like males even if its genome
contains XX instead of XY. The bull calf produced in this case will produce 75%
offspring with male characters and 25% females.
Why we need male calves?
In beef industry, male calves
are much more worth than the females. Male calves are more fuel efficient, which
mean they will consume less feed and convert it to meat more efficiently as
compared to their female counter parts. This is not only of economic importance
to the farmers but also contributes in reducing the pollution in the environment.
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