A guide to assess the use of gene editing in aquaculture

A guide to assess the use of gene editing in aquaculture

Aquaculture creates ‘aquatic foods’ such as fish, shellfish, and seaweeds that are critical for food security. Gene editing using CRISPR‐Cas9 has the potential to transform aquaculture by improving animal welfare, nutritional attributes, and farming efficiency, with benefits for environmental sustai...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Reviews in aquaculture Vol. 16; no. 2; pp. 775 - 784
Main Authors: Robinson, Nicholas A., Østbye, Tone‐Kari Knutsdatter, Kettunen, Anne H., Coates, Andrew, Barrett, Luke T., Robledo, Diego, Dempster, Tim
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Burwood Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-03-2024
Subjects:
Algae
Animal care
Animal welfare
Aquaculture
CRISPR
CRISPR‐Cas9
Disease control
Ecological footprint
Editing
ethics
Fish
Food security
Gene editing
Genetic engineering
Genetic modification
Genome editing
Health risks
Human nutrition
Introgression
Local communities
Mitigation
Nutrition
Polyculture (aquaculture)
Population genetics
public acceptance
Risk analysis
risk–benefit
Seaweeds
Shellfish
Side effects
Supply chains
sustainability
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Summary:Aquaculture creates ‘aquatic foods’ such as fish, shellfish, and seaweeds that are critical for food security. Gene editing using CRISPR‐Cas9 has the potential to transform aquaculture by improving animal welfare, nutritional attributes, and farming efficiency, with benefits for environmental sustainability. However, gene editing also poses risks of harm via side effects on other important traits or genetic introgression into wild populations. Public acceptance of gene edited aquatic species will rapidly erode if risk mitigation is ineffective or not applied. Here, we review the benefits and risks for gene editing in aquaculture. A general framework for risk–benefit analysis of gene editing in aquaculture is proposed, incorporating nine key considerations: genetic impacts, ecological impacts, disease risk mitigation, nature of edit, supply chain environmental footprint, animal welfare, human nutrition, ethical business implications and impacts on local communities. When applied on a case‐by‐case basis, the framework will help identify how gene editing of a farmed species can most enhance production and nutritional benefits while minimising harms to animal welfare, the environment, and society.
ISSN:1753-5123
1753-5131
DOI:10.1111/raq.12866