The Agriculture Department proposes to take over the Food and Drug Administration's oversight of gene-altered animals, a potential victory for livestock groups seeking to speed approval of genetic modifications.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need for an overhaul of the government's regulatory system for animal biotechnology products, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization said in a letter to President Donald Trump Tuesday.

The Food and Drug Administration, facing increased criticism of its regulatory process for gene-edited animals, is mounting a new effort to defend its policies to farmers, researchers and developers, but the industry is backing the Agriculture Department's push to take over some of FDA's oversight role.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has floated the possibility of USDA and the Food and Drug Administration splitting regulatory responsibilities over gene-edited animals.

The Food and Drug Administration says that a new analysis indicating genome editing in cattle can have unintended consequences underscores the importance of its regulatory approach to animal biotechnology.