Abstract
A Japanese group claims to be the first to make animals genetically modified with a gene from a plant, according to a report on newscientist.com/news. Described by a spokesperson from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as ‘totally disgraceful’, the work has come as a surprise to many experts who had no idea that the work was going on. In order to produce pork with reduced saturated fat content, the group introduced a spinach gene encoding the enzyme FAD2 into pigs. FAD2 converts saturated fats to the unsaturated fat linoleic acid. The data are not yet published, but the scientist in charge of the experiments, Akira Iritani, based at Kinki University in Western Japan, is reported to have said that the FAD2 transgene has been passed successfully through three generations of pigs and seven generations of mice, and that the level of saturated fats in the animals has been reduced by 20%. Iritani, also known for his attempts to clone mammoth DNA, hopes that tests will be conducted to show that the meat from the modified pigs is safe for consumption, and must now be under strong pressure to make his data public. S.L.
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