GENOME EDITING FOR ENHANCED ANIMAL PRODUCTION: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY EDUCATIONAL APPROACH

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1012956
• Grant No.: 2017-38420-26790
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $238,500.00
• Proposal No.: 2016-11419
• Project Start Date: Jun 1, 2017
• Project End Date: May 31, 2022
• Grant Year: 2017
• Program Code: [KK]- National Needs Graduate Fellowships Program

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS
410 MRAK HALL
DAVIS,CA 95616-8671

Performing Department
Animal Science

Non Technical Summary
This project addresses current emerging issues in the discipline of Animal Science (code A) and targets the expertise shortage area in animal production. The overall goal is to promote doctoral level training of next generation animal scientists in gene editing through a multidisciplinary graduate group by providing innovative opportunities to enhance research and leadership skills. Supporting objectives are to: 1) provide award support for three outstanding doctoral students, especially encouraging underrepresented minorities; 2) provide cutting-edge academic and research training through high quality mentors which will enable students to assume professional positions in a variety of settings; 3) promote development of future leaders in the animal gene editing field through opportunities for experiential learning and exposure to inter-disciplinary research. Plans to achieve these goals will build on existing strengths of the UC Davis Graduate Group in Animal Biology and distinguish these students as uniquely trained. Students will complete two disciplines of emphasis, including inter-disciplinary coursework. They will complete ethics training. The training program will encourage and facilitate participation in experiential learning through unique opportunities such as Biotechnology interns. This program project is directly relevant to NNF and USDA CSREES strategic goals. The anticipated impact will be students with enhanced professional expertise and preparation to assume positions of leadership to address critical societal issues.

Animal Health Component

33%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

34%

Applied

33%

Developmental

33%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
303	3999	1080	100%

Knowledge Area
303 - Genetic Improvement of Animals;

Subject Of Investigation
3999 - Animal research, general;

Field Of Science
1080 - Genetics;

Keywords

animal biology

gene editing

interdisciplinary training

minorities

Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of this project is to promote doctoral level training of next generation animal scientists in genome editing technologies aimed at improving animal production by providing innovative opportunities to enhance research and leadership skills. Supporting objectives are to: 1) provide award support for Three outstanding doctoral students, especially encouraging underrepresented minorities; 2) provide cutting-edge academic and research training through high quality mentors which will enable students to assume professional positions in a variety of settings; 3) promote development of future leaders in the animal gene editing field through opportunities for experiential learning and exposure to inter-disciplinary research.

Project Methods
We plan to recruit 3 Ph.D. fellows in the areas of gene editing for improving animal production. The training program willbuild on existing strengths of the UC Davis Graduate Group in Animal Biology, and Integrative Genetics and Genomics anddistinguish these students as uniquely trained. Students will complete two disciplines of emphasis, including inter-disciplinarycoursework. They will complete ethics training. The training program will encourage and facilitate participation in experientiallearning through unique opportunities such as Biotechnology interns.

Progress 06/01/17 to 05/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:Prospective PhD students, research community Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three PhD students participated in the program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations at conferences and publication of research papers. Also, a webpage of this NNF program is maintained at: https://geeap.ucdavis.edu/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Three fellows were trained on PhD programs during the funding period. One fellow graduated in March of 2022 with a PhD in Animal Science from UC Davis. Her dissertation was titled: "Investigating the Mechanism Underlying the Polled Phenotype in Cattle". During the program, this fellow published five peer-reviewed manuscripts in scientific journals and 13 abstracts presented at scientific meetings. She also attended multiple international meetings, receiving the John Clark Student Poster Award in 2021, to the top student poster presentation at the Transgenic Animal Research Conference. She also received funds from the Henry A. Jastro Graduate Research Award on three occasions and the Ursula K. Abbott Animal Science Graduate Student Travel Award. The other two fellows have completed all required coursework and have passed the Qualifying Examination. As PhD candidates they are finalizing research work for their dissertations. One of them is expected to graduate in March of 2023, with a dissertation titled: "Evaluation of CRISPR/Cas-9 NANOS3 knockout cattle and potential for germ cell complementation". This fellow has so far published three manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and five abstracts in scientific meetings. She has given eight presentations at national and international conferences and has received several accolades, including: · 2022 American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) - Agri King Outstanding Animal Science Graduate Student Award · 2021 National Cattlemen's Foundation - W.D. Farr Scholarship · 2021 California Cattlemen's Association (CCA) - Terry Bengard Memorial Scholarship · 2021 UCDavis Animal Science Department - Frank G. Rue Memorial Award · 2021 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) - Baker/Cundiff Graduate Essay Award · 2021 UCDavis College of Agriculture & Environmental Sci. - Van Alfen/MacDonald Graduate Student Award · 2020, 2021 American Angus Foundation - Talon Youth Leadership Graduate Scholarship · 2019 UCDavis Graduate Student Association - Fall Conference Travel Award · 2019 California Cattlemen's Association (CCA) - Hank Stone Memorial California Beef Cattle Improvement Association (CBCIA) Scholarship · 2018 Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) - Graduate Student, Science Communication Award · 2018 Western Section-ASAS - Graduate Student 3 Minute Video Competition, 1st place Our third fellow is expecting to graduate in June 2024 and is working on a project titled: "Bovine germline development and potential of bovine embryonic stem cells for in vitro gametogenesis". She has so far published one peer-reviewed paper and two abstracts at conference proceedings. This fellow received the Neil Forsberg and Aziza Mohd Award given to "graduate students in the Department of Animal Science who have taken risks on research that pushes the boundaries of scientific discovery, and who have applied novel approaches and innovative techniques toward research.", the Ursula K. Abbott Animal Science Graduate Student Travel Award, and two Henry A. Jastro Graduate Research Awards for conducting doctoral research work. Overall, the program has been successful in recruiting and training PhD students in the use of genome editing for enhanced animal production.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Mueller, M. L. & Van Eenennaam, A. L. (2022). Synergistic power of genomic selection, assisted reproductive technologies, and gene editing to drive genetic improvement of cattle. CABI Agriculture and Bioscience. 3(13). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43170-022-00080-z
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Hennig, S.L., Owen, J.R., Lin, J.C., McNabb, B.R., Van Eenennaam, A.L., Murray, J.D. 2022. A deletion at the polled PC locus alone is not sufficient to cause a polled phenotype in cattle. Scientific Reports 12:2067. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-06118-6.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Soto, D.A., Navarro, M., Zheng, C., Halstead, M.M., Zhou, C., Guiltinan, C., Wu, J., & Ross, P.J. 2021. Simplification of culture conditions and feeder-free expansion of bovine embryonic stem cells. Scientific Reports 11(1), 11045.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Guiltinan, C., Candelaria, J.I., Rabaglino, M.B., Smith, J.M., & Denicol, A.C. (2021). Derivation and evaluation of bovine embryonic stem cells from early and full blastocyst-stage embryos. Reproduction, Fertility and Development, 34(2), 318-318. Poster presentation at: 48th Annual International Embryo Technology Society Conference; Jan. 2022; Savannah, GA, USA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2021 Citation: Guiltinan, C., Weldon, B., Soto, D.A., Ross, P.J., & Denicol, A.C. Single-cell transcriptome analysis of fetal and adult bovine ovaries reveals developmental progression in cell population composition and function. Accepted abstract for poster presentation at 49th Annual International Embryo Technology Society Conference; Jan. 2023; Lima, Peru.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Ledesma, A.V., Mueller, M.L., Owen, J.R., Hennig, S.L., McNabb, B.R., Van Eenennaam, A.L. Analysis of XX,SRY Positive Offspring of a SRY-Knock in Bull [abstract for poster]. Plant and Animal Genome Conference, 2022.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Van Eenennaam, A.L., Hennig, S.L., Trott, J.F., McNabb, B.R., Owen, J.R., Young, A.E., Mueller, M.L., Lin, J.C., Murray, J.D. Functional Analysis and Characterization of the Hornless Phenotype in Cattle. [abstract for oral presentation]. Plant and Animal Genome Conference, 2022.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Hennig, S.L., Owen, J.R., Lin, J.C., McNabb, B.R., Van Eenennaam, A.L., Murray, J.D. Investigating the Causal Mechanism Behind Hornless Cattle. [abstract for poster]. Plant and Animal Genome Conference, 2022.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Mueller, M.L., McNabb, B.R., Owen, J.R., Hennig, S.L., Ross, P.J., Van Eenennaam, A.L. Production of a germline knockout bull using CRISPR/Cas9 in bovine zygotes. [proceeding paper] World Congress on Genetics Applied for Livestock Production, 2022.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Hennig, S.L., McNabb, B.R., Trott, J.F., Van Eenennaam, A.L., Murray, J.D. 2022. LincRNA#1 knockout alone does not affect polled phenotype in cattle heterozygous for the celtic POLLED allele. Scientific Reports 12:7627. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-11669-9.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Mueller, M.L., Ledesma, A.V., Owen, J.R., Hennig, S.L., McNabb, B.R., Ross, P.J., Van Eenennaam, A.L. Single cell RNA-sequencing analysis of CRISPR/Cas9 NANOS3 knockout bovine testes. [abstract]. Advanced Genome Biology and Technology Conference, 2022.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Lin, J.C., Bishop, T.F., Owen, J.R., Hennig, S.L., Hua, T.A., Swift, R.J. Van Eenennaam, A.L. Using electroporation and adeno-associated virus delivery of editing reagents to generate a 3.9 kb knock-in in bovine zygotes. [abstract]. Large Animal Genetic Engineering Summit, 2022.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Maci L. Mueller, et al. (2022). Production of a germline ablated bull using CRISPR/Cas9 to target NANOS3 in bovine zygotes. Proceedings of the 12th World Congress of Genetics Applied to Livestock Production (WCGALP) Conference, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Mueller, M. L., and A. L. Van Eenennaam. (2022). Synergistic power of genomic selection, assisted reproductive technologies, and gene editing to drive genetic improvement of cattle. Invited talk presented at the American Society of Animal Science Annual Meeting, Oklahoma City, OK. [Abstract # 41].
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Mueller, M. L., and A. L. Van Eenennaam. (2022). Synergistic Potential of Genomics and Biotechnology to Accelerate Genetic Improvement and Climate Adaptation of Cattle. Invited talk to be presented at the Plant and Animal Genome (PAG) XXIX Conference, San Diego, CA. [Abstract # 44804].

Progress 06/01/20 to 05/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:Prospective PhD students, research community Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three PhD students are participating in this program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations at conferences and publication of research papers. Also, a webpage of this NNF program is maintained at: https://geeap.ucdavis.edu/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We expect all Fellows will advance in their academic and research programs.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? All three fellows are making normative progress on their PhD programs. Fellows have maintained good academic standing and are developing research projects aligned with the program objectives of using genome editing to enhance animal agriculture. Two fellows secured research funding through the Henry A. Jastro Graduate Research Award is given to "outstanding graduate students in recognition of their potential to carry out research projects related to the mission of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (UC Davis) as outlined in written proposals. One fellow participated in grant writing and securing funding from the Russell L. Rustici Rangeland & Cattle Research Endowment. Fellows participated in national and international research conferences presenting their research results.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Mueller, M. L., et al. (2021). Comparison of gene editing versus conventional breeding to introgress the POLLED allele into the tropically adapted Australian beef cattle population. Frontiers in Genetics. 12(68). https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2021.593154
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Soto, D.A., Navarro, M., Zheng, C., Halstead, M.M., Zhou, C., Guiltinan, C., Wu, J., & Ross, P.J. 2021. Simplification of culture conditions and feeder-free expansion of bovine embryonic stem cells. Scientific Reports 11(1), 11045.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Owen, J.R., Hennig, S.L., McNabb, B.R., Lin, J.C., Young, A.E., Murray, J.D., Ross, P.J., and Van Eenennaam, A.L.�2020. Harnessing endogenous repair mechanisms for targeted gene knock?in of bovine embryos. Scientific Reports, 10: 16031. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-72902-x.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Hennig, S.L., Owen, J.R., Lin, J.C., Young, A.E., Ross, P.J., Van Eenennaam, A.L., and Murray, J.D. 2020. Evaluation of mutation rates, mosaicism and off target mutations when injecting Cas9 mRNA or protein for genome editing of bovine embryos. Scientific Reports 10: 22309. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-78264-8.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Owen, J.R., Hennig, S.L., McNabb, B.R., Mansour, T.A., Smith, J.M., Lin, J.C., Young, A.E., Trott, J.F., Murray, J.D., Delany, M.E., Ross, P.J., Van Eenennaam, A.L. One-step generation of a targeted knock-in calf using the CRISPR-Cas9 system in bovine zygotes. BMC Genomics 22: 118. doi: 10.1186/s12864-021-07418-3.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Mueller, M. L. (2021). Gene editing as a tool for genetic improvement of beef cattle. Proceedings of the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) 53rd Annual Research Symposium and Annual Meeting: Selected winner of the Baker/Cundiff Graduate Student Literature Review Essay Contest, Des Moines, IA. 53:51-55. https://beefimprovement.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/21_BIFProceedings.pdf
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Owen, J.R., Hennig, S.L., McNabb, B., Mansour, T.A., Lin, J.C., Young, A.E., Murray, J.D., Ross, P.J., and Van Eenennaam, A.L. 2020. Production of a gene knock-in bull calf by embryo-mediated genome editing. 2020 ASAS-CSAS-WSASAS Virtual Meeting Abstract. Poster PSX-32. Journal of Animal Science, Volume 98: Supplement_4: 358359.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Hennig, S.L., Carlson, D., Lancto, C., Sonstegard, T., and Murray, J.D. 2020. Improving dairy cattle welfare standards through genetic dehorning by using CRISPR/Cas9 [abstract]. Transgenic Research, 29:484.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Owen, J.R., Hennig, S.L., Paulson, E.E., Lin, J.C., Young, A.E., Cabrera, L.C., Murray, J.D., Ross, P.J., and Van Eenennaam, A.L. 2020. Harnessing endogenous repair mechanisms for targeted gene knock-in during early bovine embryonic development [abstract]. Transgenic Research, 29: 470.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Owen, J.R., Hennig, S.L., McNabb, B.R., Mansour, T.A., Smith, J.M., Lin, J.C., Young, A.E., Trott, J.F., Murray, J.D., Delany, M.E., Ross, P.J., Van Eenennaam, A.L. 2021 One-step generation of a targeted knock-in calf using the CRISPR-Cas9 system in bovine zygotes. BMC Genomics 22: 118. doi: 10.1186/s12864-021-07418-3.

Progress 06/01/19 to 05/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:Prospective PhD students, research community Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three PhD students are participating in this program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations at conferences and publication of research papers. Also, a webpage of this NNF program is maintained at: https://geeap.ucdavis.edu/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We expect all Fellows will advance in their academic and research programs.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? All three fellows are making normative progress on their PhD programs. Fellows have maintained good academic standing and are developing research projects aligned with the program objectives of using genome editing to enhance animal agriculture. All three fellows secured research funding through the Henry A. Jastro Graduate Research Award is given to "outstanding graduate students in recognition of their potential to carry out research projects related to the mission of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (UC Davis) as outlined in written proposals. Fellows participated in national and international research conferences presenting their research results.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Mueller, M. L., Cole, J.B., Sonstegard, T.S., Van Eenennaam, A.L. Comparison of gene editing vs. conventional breeding to introgress the POLLED allele into the U.S. dairy cattle population. Journal of Dairy Science 2019. 102(5):4215-4226. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2018-15892
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Mueller, M. L., et al. (2019). Comparison of gene editing versus conventional breeding to introgress the POLLED allele into the tropically-adapted Australian beef cattle population. Proceedings paper presented at the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding & Genetics (AAABG) Conference, Armidale, NSW, Australia. 23:59-62.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Mueller, M. L. (2020). Investigation of germline complementation in cattle. Presented at the Univeristy of California, Davis - Animal Biology Graduate Group Colloquium, Davis, CA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Mueller, M. L., et al. (2019). Comparison of gene editing versus conventional breeding to introgress the POLLED allele into the Australian Brahman population. Poster presented at the Transgenic Animal Research Conference (TARC), Tahoe City, CA. Transgenic Research. 29:484 [Abstract].
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Owen, J.R., Hennig, S.L., Paulson, E.E., Lin, J.C., Ross, P.J., and Van Eenennaam, A. L. 2019. Improved rate of targeted gene knock-in of in-vitro fertilized bovine embryos. Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics. 23: 7-10.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Owen, J.R., Hennig, S.L., Paulson, E.E., Lin, J.C., Ross, P.J., and Van Eenennaam, A.L. Harnessing endogenous repair mechanisms for precise modification of in vitro fertilized bovine embryos. Poster presented at: 3rd International Conference on CRISPR Technologies; 2019; W�rzburg, Germany.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Hennig S.L., Bullard, C., Carlson, D., Frutos Ben�tez, C., Lancto, C., and Murray, J.D. 2018. Elevating dairy cattle welfare standards through genetic dehorning by using TALENs/CRISPR-Cas9 [abstract]. Transgenic Research, 27:481.

Progress 06/01/18 to 05/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Prospective PhD students, research community Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three PhD students participated in the program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations at conferences and publication of research papers. Also, a webpage of this NNF program is maintained at: https://geeap.ucdavis.edu/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Three fellows were trained on PhD programs during the funding period. One fellow graduated in March of 2022 with a PhD in Animal Science from UC Davis. Her dissertation was titled: "Investigating the Mechanism Underlying the Polled Phenotype in Cattle". During the program, this fellow published five peer-reviewed manuscripts in scientific journals and 13 abstracts presented at scientific meetings. She also attended multiple international meetings, receiving the John Clark Student Poster Award in 2021, to the top student poster presentation at the Transgenic Animal Research Conference. She also received funds from the Henry A. Jastro Graduate Research Award on three occasions and the Ursula K. Abbott Animal Science Graduate Student Travel Award. The other two fellows have completed all required coursework and have passed the Qualifying Examination. As PhD candidates they are finalizing research work for their dissertations. One of them is expected to graduate in March of 2023, with a dissertation titled: "Evaluation of CRISPR/Cas-9 NANOS3 knockout cattle and potential for germ cell complementation". This fellow has so far published three manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and five abstracts in scientific meetings. She has given eight presentations at national and international conferences and has received several accolades, including: · 2022 American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) - Agri King Outstanding Animal Science Graduate Student Award · 2021 National Cattlemen's Foundation - W.D. Farr Scholarship · 2021 California Cattlemen's Association (CCA) - Terry Bengard Memorial Scholarship · 2021 UCDavis Animal Science Department - Frank G. Rue Memorial Award · 2021 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) - Baker/Cundiff Graduate Essay Award · 2021 UCDavis College of Agriculture & Environmental Sci. - Van Alfen/MacDonald Graduate Student Award · 2020, 2021 American Angus Foundation - Talon Youth Leadership Graduate Scholarship · 2019 UCDavis Graduate Student Association - Fall Conference Travel Award · 2019 California Cattlemen's Association (CCA) - Hank Stone Memorial California Beef Cattle Improvement Association (CBCIA) Scholarship · 2018 Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) - Graduate Student, Science Communication Award · 2018 Western Section-ASAS - Graduate Student 3 Minute Video Competition, 1st place Our third fellow is expecting to graduate in June 2024 and is working on a project titled: "Bovine germline development and potential of bovine embryonic stem cells for in vitro gametogenesis". She has so far published one peer-reviewed paper and two abstracts at conference proceedings. This fellow received the Neil Forsberg and Aziza Mohd Award given to "graduate students in the Department of Animal Science who have taken risks on research that pushes the boundaries of scientific discovery, and who have applied novel approaches and innovative techniques toward research.", the Ursula K. Abbott Animal Science Graduate Student Travel Award, and two Henry A. Jastro Graduate Research Awards for conducting doctoral research work. Overall, the program has been successful in recruiting and training PhD students in the use of genome editing for enhanced animal production.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Mueller, M. L., Cole, J.B., Sonstegard, T.S., Van Eenennaam, A.L. Comparison of gene editing vs. conventional breeding to introgress the POLLED allele into the U.S. dairy cattle population. Journal of Dairy Science 2019. 102(5):4215-4226. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2018-15892
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Mueller, M. L., et al. (2019). Comparison of gene editing versus conventional breeding to introgress the POLLED allele into the tropically-adapted Australian beef cattle population. Proceedings paper presented at the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding & Genetics (AAABG) Conference, Armidale, NSW, Australia. 23:59-62.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Mueller, M. L. (2020). Investigation of germline complementation in cattle. Presented at the Univeristy of California, Davis - Animal Biology Graduate Group Colloquium, Davis, CA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Owen, J.R., Hennig, S.L., Paulson, E.E., Lin, J.C., Ross, P.J., and Van Eenennaam, A. L. 2019. Improved rate of targeted gene knock-in of in-vitro fertilized bovine embryos. Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics. 23: 7-10.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Owen, J.R., Hennig, S.L., Paulson, E.E., Lin, J.C., Ross, P.J., and Van Eenennaam, A.L. Harnessing endogenous repair mechanisms for precise modification of in vitro fertilized bovine embryos. Poster presented at: 3rd International Conference on CRISPR Technologies; 2019; W�rzburg, Germany.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Hennig S.L., Bullard, C., Carlson, D., Frutos Ben�tez, C., Lancto, C., and Murray, J.D. 2018. Elevating dairy cattle welfare standards through genetic dehorning by using TALENs/CRISPR-Cas9 [abstract]. Transgenic Research, 27:481.

Progress 06/01/17 to 05/31/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Students seeking graduate education in Animal Science related fields. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?First year was used for recruitment. Training and professional development opportunities will be carried out in years 2-5. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We advertised again with the aim of recruiting one more fellow to the program. Current fellows have just started their programs.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The opportunity was broadly advertised during the first year of the project. A website was developed for broad promotion of the fellowship opportunity (https://geeap.ucdavis.edu/).Brochures were distributed at the 2018 Plant and Animal Genome Meeting and 2018 International Embryo Technology Society meeting. The opportunity was presented to targeted audiences via e-mail lists including the International Society for Transgenic Technologies listserv, ANGENMAP listserv, and students admitted to UC Davis Animal Biology and Integrative Genetics and Genomics graduate groups. UC Davis graduate programs received a copy of our brochure to distribute during their broad recruitment events. We have successfully recruited two students to the program. Both students have excellent academic records and are starting their PhD in the Animal Biology Graduate Group. Both students are female and one of them is Latino, indicating that we have been successful in attracting underrepresented groups in science.

Publications