EXECUTIVE CORNER

preparing for the future

IBBA ADOPTS POLICY ON GENE EDITING

by Darrell Wilkes, Ph.D., International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) executive vice president The IBBA Board of Directors recently approved policy on gene editing that was developed and recommended by the Breed Improvement Committee. The full policy statement appears at the end of this article. I will attempt to put this in context. First, gene editing is NOT the same thing as transgenics. Gene-edited plants or animals are not considered GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms). Gene editing refers to a genetic alteration done within a specie. For instance, gene edited soybeans contain only naturally occurring soybean genes, and gene edited cattle contain only naturally occurring cattle genes. IBBA has no say in whether certain gene edits will be approved for use in food-producing plants or animals. Those decisions are made by agencies of the federal government. As usual, federal agencies fight over who has regulatory oversight of certain industries or technologies. At present, FDA has regulatory authority over gene-edited animals and has approved several edits. One of particular interest is the socalled “SLICK” gene in cattle. This is a gene that ALREADY EXITS in certain breeds of cattle. When the SLICK gene is used to replace the “normal” gene at a specific location in the cattle genome, the resulting animals have a slick hair coat which makes them less vulnerable to heat stress. In a nutshell, FDA concluded that animals produced with the SLICK edit pose no new risk to consumers because the gene is already present in the cattle population. Therefore, once the original edited animals are approved, they can produce as many progeny as Mother Nature allows and their progeny and all other descendants can enter the food chain without restriction. As you might expect, this has captured some media interest. And, as you might expect, it gets a bit more hype than it deserves. The SLICK gene is touted as a way to offset the effects of global warming on beef production. Brangus breeders know there’s a bit more to it than that, but the big city reporter who is wowed by the science doesn’t know any better, so they present the SLICK edit as “the answer” to beef production in a warming world. A group of cattle breeders has produced a red clone of a black Angus bull. Researchers are aggressively pursuing gene edits that would affect cattle health outcomes. It bears repeating – gene editing only deals with genes that are already present within a specie. There is no cross-specie editing. That’s called transgenics and it is labeled as GMO. Gene editing will be a part of the future of livestock breeding. There is no doubt about that. IBBA leadership elected to deal with this issue and provide clear policy rather than leaving it as an unanswered question. I’ll be surprised if a Brangus breeder somewhere does not present a specific edit to the Breed Improvement Committee and the Board for approval -- probably before they spend the money to produce an edited clone of an exiting animal. Please study the policy carefully and, if you have questions, please reach out to me. Note that the policy is not openended. If the IBBA Breed Improvement Committee and the Board determines that a particular edit is not in the best interest of the breed, they can reject it. That won’t stop somebody from doing it, but it will prevent them from registering such cattle in IBBA.

IBBA Policy - Gene Edited Animals – approved 6/15/22 1. Gene edits are formally referred to as Intentional Genomic Alterations (IGA). 2. IBBA will allow registration of animals with IGAs provided that the following conditions are met: i The specific IGA has been approved by the IBBA Breed Improvement Committee and the IBBA Board of Directors. ii. Once a specific IGA has been approved by the Board, such approval extends to all future animals with the identical IGA. iii. IBBA will produce and maintain a list of approved IGAs which shall have sufficient detail regarding the precise

genomic location and nature of the edit to allow exact replication of the edit by service providers. iv. A DNA test confirming the edit must be available and the results of such test must be provided on all IGA animals. v. The member(s) applying for registration of an IGA animal must present proof that, if appropriate, all application materials have been submitted to the regulatory agency responsible for approving such IGAs. vi. In order for an edited animal to be registered with IBBA, it is not necessary that the relevant regulatory agency has approved the specific IGA. vii. Approval of a specific IGA by the appropriate regulatory agency does not mean that the IGA will be automatically approved by IBBA. 3. All other IBBA registration rules apply, including clonerelated rules. 4. Animals with an original IGA will be designated by their registration certificate as a Gene Edit Founder (GEF) animal. All subsequent descendants of such animals shall be designated as Gene Edit Descendants (GED) perpetually except in those cases where a DNA test confirms that the edit was not inherited by a subject animal, in which case their GED status is null. 5. Since IGA animals are not identical to their cell-donor, they will have a different registration number. 6. Cloned animals with an IGA will initially receive the same EPDs as the cell donor. Thereafter, normal procedures will apply and the IGA animal’s EPDs will be affected by progeny and other data resulting in EPDs that are different from the cell donor. 7. Since IGA animals are not identical to their cell-donor, the designation of the BREEDER of the edited animal shall be the person seeking registration of the gene-edited animal provided that such person was owner or part owner of the cell donor on the day of biopsy and during the process of editing the genome. 8. Enrollment and subsequent registration of animals originating from other registries will be accepted if details associated with the specific alteration(s) is disclosed to IBBA and if the specific alteration is one that has been approved by IBBA.