Meet the world's first CRISPR horses! Genetically-modified foals have been edited to run faster, sparking criticism among experts
They look like ordinary horses, with their honey brown coats and white patches.
But these 10-month-old foals in Argentina are the world's first gene-edited horses, according to scientists.
Experts say they've been created in a lab using CRISPR-Cas9, the controversial technique that removes, adds or alters sections of the DNA sequence.
When these foals fully grown and trained up, they'll have bigger muscle, improved power and better speed to help their riders win at polo.
Polo -- which was brought to Argentina by British immigrants – already allows cloned horses.
However, gene editing is proving controversial among horse breeders in Argentina, where the sport is extremely competitive, Reuters reports.
Marcos Heguy, a breeder and former professional polo player in Argentina, said the practice of gene-edited horses 'ruins breeders'.
'It's like painting a picture with artificial intelligence -- the artist is finished,' he said.
These horses have been cloned from an award-winning mare (female horse) in Argentina called Polo Pureza, or Polo Purity.
But the clones have been altered with CRISPR-Cas9, which functions as a sort of genetic scissors to cut and customize DNA.
Using CRISPR, scientists made a tweak to myostatin -- a gene that limits muscle growth – to increase the muscle fibers that allow for powerful movements.
Due to the unconventional method, the Argentine Polo Association has banned gene-edited horses from the sport.
Benjamin Araya, the association's president, said the technique 'takes away the charm' and 'takes away the magic of breeding'.
'I like to choose a mare, choose a stallion, cross them, and hope that it will turn out very well,' he said.
It's unclear, however, how the ban will be enforced, as the association doesn't distinguish between cloned, genetically engineered and conventionally-bred horses.
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