In a major push to scientific and dairy education in the country, the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) (deemed university) has started two new under graduate courses, session for which are likely to kick-off this October, officials said on Monday.
They said that the institute under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has started counselling for BTech in biotechnology and BTech in food technology, with 20 seats in each course.
Dr Dheer Singh, director of the institute and vice-chancellor, said that apart from this, the institute has also increased seats for BTech in dairy technology from 40 to 60.
“Of the 60 dairy technology seats, 20 will be sent to our Bengaluru campus. The session for all the new courses will begin by October. With this the number of degree courses rise to total 27, including 12 for PhD. We are also making efforts to begin exit and later entry system in the courses as well as certificate courses. Overall we are gradually implementing National Education Policy (NEP) at NDRI,” Dr Singh said.
NDRI develops BLG-gene-edited embryos
At a press conference at his office, the director said that the institute (NDRI) has made landmark advancements in animal biotechnology with the successful development of CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) gene-edited embryos targeting the β-lactoglobulin (BLG) gene.
This pioneering research has been featured in the scientific reports, a journal within the nature group, Singh said.
“The BLG gene plays a crucial role in the composition of milk, particularly influencing its interaction with other milk proteins and causing allergies in humans. Notably, this protein is absent in human milk, and approximately 3% of newborns globally suffer from allergies related to bovine milk due to the presence of BLG. By editing this gene, ICAR-NDRI aims to reduce allergenicity and enhance the nutritional profile of milk to develop more health-conscious dairy products,” he added.
Scientists engaged with the project said this achievement marks a significant advancement in the application of gene editing within the dairy sector and the development of these gene-editing embryos could revolutionise dairy farming practices by producing dairy animals that produce milk with a reduced allergenic potential, thus improving consumer health and expanding the market for dairy products.
In view of heat stress among livestock, which is causing reduction in milk production, the ICAR-NDRI is also utilising CRISPR technology to develop climate-resilient dairy animals.
“This initiative aims to enhance the adaptability of dairy cattle to changing environmental conditions, further highlighting ICAR-NDRI’s commitment to innovation and sustainability in dairy production. This cutting-edge research highlights NDRI’s leading role in advancing dairy science and biotechnology, with the potential to significantly impact global dairy farming and consumer health,” the director said.
