WSU researchers win historic FDA approval for gene-edited pork

At a barbecue on campus last week, flames licked a set of sausage links as scientist Blake Foraker worked on the perfect grill marks.

“We smoked these during the cooking process, so that’s where you see the nice mahogany brown,” Foraker said, as the grill sizzled.

But these aren’t your average pork sausages.

With permission from the Food and Drug Administration, WSU researchers made them from pigs whose DNA has been changed. While the FDA has approved gene-edited animals before, this is the first time the federal agency has authorized a university to conduct this type of research.

Jon Oatley, a professor of molecular biosciences at WSU and the lead researcher on the project, used a tool called CRISPR on five pigs.