Page 31 - Dairy Dimenison Aug-Sep24

| Volume 1 | Issue 1 | Jul-Aug 2024 INDUSTRY NEWS

NDRI's Groundbreaking Research

Moves Closer to Climate-Resilient

Dairy Cattle

In a bid to keep milk flowing amid severe heatwaves, enhance traits that contribute to climate resilience.
NDRI develops genetically edited embryo of buffalo “Once the offspring is born and reaches the milking
In a significant advancement toward making the dairy stage, we'll be able to assess whether its milk production
industry more resilient to climate change, the National can indeed withstand climate variations,” explained
Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) in Karnal has developed Dheer Singh, Director of NDRI. He noted that, under
an embryo using cutting-edge gene-editing technology. normal conditions, it typically takes about five years for
This breakthrough promises to ensure stable milk an animal to progress from embryo to milking stage.
production even in the face of extreme weather After the calf is born, it will require an additional two to
conditions. three years to mature, followed by a year of pregnancy
The next phase of this research involves implanting the before it begins milk production.
genetically edited embryo into a female buffalo, where it Singh also pointed out that certain indigenous cattle
will gestate for approximately 10 months. This breeds, such as the 'Tharparkar', are naturally heat-
meticulous process is a key step in testing the potential resistant, maintaining stable milk yields despite climate
of this innovative approach. changes. By mapping the genes responsible for these
The project employs CRISPR (clustered regularly traits, researchers aim to transfer them to other cattle
interspaced short palindromic repeats) technology, a breeds, potentially enhancing milk production across the
powerful tool for precise DNA editing. CRISPR allows country.
scientists to target and modify specific genes, aiming to Source: Business Standard

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