GENETICALLY engineering farm animals so they can produce their own omega-3 oils would improve their health and ours, and benefit the environment, claims a team in Boston. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a double bonus, good for animals and humans,鈥� says Jing Kang of the Harvard Medical School, whose team has proved this could be done by adding a nematode gene to mice.
Most animals, including people, cannot make their own omega-3 oils, fatty acids credited with reducing heart attacks, as well as many other benefits (see 鈥淥mega-3 might help diabetics鈥�). Like fish, we can convert the shorter-chain omega-3 made by plants and marine algae into the long-chain omega-3 oils essential for health, but meat, milk or eggs containing the long-chain form are the best source. Many farmers feed their animals fishmeal, rich in omega-3, to improve their health.
But nematode worms can make their own omega-3 oils with an enzyme that converts omega-6 into omega-3. Most animals can make their own omega-6. So Kang鈥檚 team added the nematode gene to mice, and found it enriched their tissues and milk with omega-3 (Nature, vol 427, p 504). He hopes to do the same thing in chickens and farmed fish. Kang says the animals themselves would be healthier and more resistant to disease, while their meat or eggs would be better for consumers. And abandoning costly fishmeal might help conserve fish stocks.
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