Generating Genetically Engineered Bovine Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a Tool to Study Cultured Meat Production Processes
2Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Cultured meat production is still in its early stages, and with many factors limiting the production capacity and cost-effectiveness, lab-grown meat is not yet a viable industry replacement for meat. Two main factors limiting large-scale production are the proliferation rate and differentiation efficiency. By improving them, the process efficiency and the amount of mass-produced will be affected, which will eventually reduce the cost of production.
To generate bovine mesenchymal stem cells (bMSCs) with an improved proliferation rate and capacity, we chose to use CRISPR knockout of selected genes.
Candidate genes for the research were selected based on several analyses. First, a CRISPR knockout database from The Cancer Dependency Map (DepMap) was used, to search for genes that upon deletion induce rapid proliferation. Genes were filtered based on the screen scores, culture type, and gene expression in bMSCs. Later, genes related to differentiation were chosen based on RNA sequencing of adipogenesis in MSCs.
Finally, genes were narrowed down to a list of candidates. Some of these genes are known tumor suppressors, regulators of cell apoptosis, and genes involved in transcriptional regulation. We will use the selected genes to engineer bMSCs cell lines to achieve higher proliferation rates and better differentiation efficiency. The cell lines will be used to study pathways and eventually improve processes in cultured meat production.