Genome editing technology allows for precise cutting of specific sequences in the genome, enabling a rapid and accurate introduction of useful traits. In aquaculture, this technology has been used as a powerful tool for the development of improved lines within a few generations. Notably, deletion-type genome editing introduces changes that could occur naturally in populations; for this reason, its impact on food safety is considered as equivalent to that of fish found in nature or those subjected to traditional breeding methods.
Regional Fish Institute Ltd. is a startup company established in 2019 that has been focusing on genetic improvement of aquaculture species, by combining genome editing and breeding technologies from both Kyoto and Kinki Universities, respectively. Using Crispr-Cas9 technology we developed an improved breed of red sea bream (Pagrus major) that show increased filet by knocking out the myostatin gene (mstn), a member of the TGF-β family with a key role in inhibition of muscle growth. In September 2021, our company completed the notification procedures with Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) for this strain. Subsequently, two other strains, one of tiger puffer (Takifugu rubripes) and another of olive flounder (Paralichtys olivaceus), both carrying mutation in the leptin receptor gene (lepr) and displaying fast growth due to increased appetite compared to other strains, were developed and subjected to the same notification procedures with MHLW and MAFF. Currently, those genome edited strains are being farmed experimentally in land-based fish farms in Japan and their respective products are available for purchase on online sites and other Japanese platforms. With focus on both native and exotic aquaculture species, we are expanding the genome editing technology to other aquaculture species, broadening the target genes and traits, developing new genome editing tools, and integrating genome editing with other classical and cutting-edge biotechnologies such as conventional selective breeding, sex control, chromosome manipulation, surrogate broodstock and genome selection.