Argentina’s Gene-Edited Polo Horses Are Here—Faster, Stronger, and Built to Win
The world’s first genetically edited polo horses are here, all thanks to the efforts of a biotech firm based in Argentina.
Kheiron Biotech – a firm based in Buenos Aires – has used the CRISPR-Cas9 technique to create five gene-edited horses that have the genes of Argentina’s award-winning mare, Polo Pureza.
It is worth knowing that the mare, whose name in Spanish Polo Pureza translates to ‘Polo Purity’ in English, has even been inducted into the Argentine Association of Polo Horse Breeders Hall of Fame, as per a report by Reuters.
The goal of the scientists behind the decision to introduce her genes is simple – to make horses that are stronger, healthier, and faster. The plan is for them to outpace the speed of the donor and set new records in the game.
World’s first gene-edited horses
The purpose behind creating genetically modified horses using the gene-editing tool was simple – improved muscle growth and speed.
It is believed that the horses created with Polo Pureza’s genes will be able to run faster and perform better on the sports field. Gabriel Vichera, co-founder and scientific director of Kheiron, says that CRISPR-Cas9 allowed them to make precise cuts in the desired region of the genome to make changes.
The scientists involved in the project edited the genes in such a manner that they could increase the explosive speed. Great care was taken to ensure that the other good qualities of the champion mare were retained.
The Reuters report also quotes Vichera as saying that there is nothing artificial about this creation, and so the five horses bred as a result tick all the boxes that Argentina. The project does not come under genetic doping, as per his claims.
The five horses were born in October and November 2024 and are currently being taken care of at a facility in San Antonio de Areco, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
They are being taken care of by a team of vets, which keeps a check on them on a daily basis. A group of mares is nursing and raising them.
Future plans for Kheiron – horses, pigs, and bovine
Only time will tell whether the five horses will be able to outpace their gene-gifting mother. However, Vichera and his team are confident about the results.
Kheiron’s CEO and founder, Daniel Sammartino, told Wired that this success puts his company and Argentina ahead of the world in precision gene editing. He stated that the company has the necessary permits and plans to do more.
Talking to Reuters, Vichera divulged that his team is also working on gene-editing pigs and cows. The goal with pigs is to make their organs more suited for transplants in humans. Meanwhile, with cows, they intend to make them better suited to living in hotter areas by giving them shorter hair.
CRISPR-Cas9 technology and its uses
CRISPR stands for “Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats” and is a technology that enables scientists to edit the DNA of any genome. In 2005, a researcher developed Cas9 – a DNA-cutting enzyme that allowed editing in the cell’s own genome.
With CRISPR, scientists can engineer plants that can survive in harsh conditions, fruits that are bigger in volume and flesh, and even animals that have the desired characteristics.
There are certain ethical dilemmas associated with CRISPR and its use on humans, and that extends to its use in animals, too. Nonetheless, it is still a very important technology that can provide multiple benefits to the society at large.
Source: Interesting Engineering
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Argentina’s Gene-Edited Polo Horses Are Here—Faster, Stronger, and Built to Win