Male cattle (bulls) convert feed calories to weight gain more efficiently than females (cows). If more bulls could be put into beef production, the process would be even more sustainable. Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam and her research team attempted a clever trick to skew the ratio of males to females in cattle offspring.  Sex determination in mammals is driven mostly by a single gene on the Y chromosome. So what if this gene was duplicated elsewhere in the genome?  Using CRISPR gene editing, this is exactly what they did.  “Cosmo” the bull should produce 75% male offspring. Dr. Van Eenennaam talks about the gene, its  mechanism of action, the process of editing a bull’s genome, and the regulatory climate around gene-edited beef.

Dr. Van Eenennaam on Twitter:  @Biobeef
Dr. Van Eenennaam’s website here.

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The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.