India’s First Gene-Edited Sheep:
Researchers from Kashmir have successfully developed India’s first gene-edited sheep using CRISPR-Cas9 technology, under a project funded by the ICAR. They edited the myostatin gene in a local Merino lamb, increasing muscle mass by 30%, similar to European Texel sheep. It contains no foreign DNA, making it non-transgenic.Gene Editing (or Genome Editing) is a biotechnology that enables the precise modification of an organism’s genetic material (DNA or RNA). It allows scientists to add, delete, or alter specific gene sequences within the genome using specialised tools.
