From the outside, the 10 piglets are no different from the ordinary pigskin, but they are not the same under the ultraviolet light. The piglets' hooves will appear pale green. These 10 piglets are genetically modified clone pigs recently bred by Yunnan Agricultural University.
The academic debate on the safety of genetically modified foods is endless. Can these genetically modified pork be used as food on the table? Yesterday, Professor Zeng Yang of Yunnan Agricultural University answered questions to the media as the general manager of the transgenic cloning pig project.
Nongda builds out transgenic pigs
When he enters the Yunnan Agricultural University, as long as he asks about genetically modified pigs cultivated by the school, many people have said that they have already known this matter and gave the pig a name called "bright pig."
It is reported that the Yunnan Agricultural University's transgenic cloned pig project is headed by Zeng Zhizhi. The research team led by Professor Wei Hongjiang is responsible for the specific work and is cooperating with Professor Gao Shizheng of the university.
Yesterday afternoon, Zeng Zhizhi said that these 10 transgenic cloned pigs are different from the traditional methods of sexual reproduction. These swine ticks are somatic cells. They are isolated from the skin cells of the Great White Pigs of the United Kingdom. Leptin gene and jellyfish green fluorescent protein gene were constructed on the same vector and donor cells were obtained, and further transgenic cloned embryos were constructed. After further processing, the transgenic cloned embryos were implanted into the surrogate sow and eventually developed into life in the womb. From the end of September last year to early October, four surrogate sows have been successfully conceived.
The breeder, Fu Guowen, said that from January 17th, when the first batch of genetically modified cloned pigs was born, on the 29th, a total of 4 sows gave birth to 14 transgenic clone piglets and survived, and they were physically robust. At present, the heaviest swine raccoon has more than 4 kilograms, and the smallest one is more than 1 kilogram.
Yesterday, in a pig house in the experimental area of ​​the Animal Science and Technology College of the school, a British Great White pig slept well, 2 white pigs sucked the mother's milk leisurely, and 2 other pigs played. .
In another pig house, there were six white piglets with clear heads. The pigs were rushing to suck milk next to the mother of the pig.
Fu Guowen then brought two piglets and used the ultraviolet light of the analyzer to illuminate the hoofs of the pigs. Under the ultraviolet rays, the hooves of these piglets show a faint green color.
Nourishing process is no different from home pigs
At 5 o'clock in the morning on January 17, the first batch of genetically modified cloned swine was born and the breeder waited in the pighouse day and night. When these pigs were born, they would all feed their mothers. However, in a litter of pigs, there are always some big heads and some small heads. When they are breastfeeding, the small piglets can't squeeze the big ones. The keeper will help the small piglets and ensure that each piglet has milk. The purpose of keeping the keeper is to prevent the pig mother from holding down the piglets.
Fu Guowen said that most of the pigs were normal after delivery, but several piglets developed symptoms of diarrhea after giving birth. It was normal for these piglets to feed medicine.
After birth, the piglet lived with the pig mother in a metal iron box that was more than 1 meter wide and more than 2 meters long. The iron box was equipped with automatic drinking water pipes, air conditioning and other insulation measures. Compared with common farmhouses, the environment here is clean and the conditions are better.
Fu Guowen said that there are no special places for the feeding and management of these swine crickets, just like ordinary swine crickets. However, these swine crickets are particularly precious and they are taken care of more frequently than ordinary swine lice.
Zeng Yangzhi said that since the breeding process used boar somatic cells, these transgenic cloned pigs were all male. If somatic cells are taken from sows, all sows are produced. The currently cultivated swine fever does not have fertility.
The purpose is to study human disease genes
Zeng Yangzhi said that on January 19, 2010, Yunnan's first cloned pig was born in the experimental area of ​​the Animal Science and Technology College of Yunnan Agricultural University. But this time the transgenic pigs that were produced were genetically modified and the combination of the two was successful in Yunnan for the first time.
So what's the significance of cultivating transgenic pigs this time?
Zeng Yangzhi said that the genes that are not found in pigs are transferred to cells and expressed through pigs to create an animal model of the disease. Some diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, are associated with abnormal changes in the genes. This specific disease-causing gene is transferred to pigs to allow pigs to develop certain diseases that are manifested by pigs. Humans then study the means and methods of treating this disease. If the pig can treat it, the human disease can be treated. This is of significance for the screening of new drugs and the study of pharmacological effects.
Zeng Yangzhi said that at present Yunnan Agricultural University has achieved success in transgenic technology. In the second step, the research team will use genetic engineering techniques to transfer human diseases to animals and help find the key to prevent and treat the disease. “At present, there are more than 1,000 diseases that are clearly linked to genes in humans. If the genes that cause disease are transferred to animals, it is equivalent to studying people.â€
â—Expert answers
Do not advocate GM foods on the table
As for the issue of whether or not GM foods are safe, the debate in the academic circles has long been inconclusive. Can these genetically modified pork be used as food on the table? Yesterday, Zeng Zhizhi accepted the newspaper as an overall director of the project.
Metro Times: Why the cloned pigs of these transgenic pigs are pale green when exposed to ultraviolet light
Zeng Yangzhi: During the cultivation process, we implanted the jellyfish's green fluorescent protein gene. Under ultraviolet light irradiation, jellyfish's green fluorescent protein gene showed green fluorescence. So these hoof hooves are pale green.
Metropolis Times: Why to Embed Jellyfish Green Fluorescent Protein Gene
Zeng Yangzhi: Fluorescence is a marker that makes it easy to see if the transgene is successful.
Metro Times: What is the purpose of implanting the Leptin gene?
Zeng Yangzhi: Leptin gene protein is a product of obesity gene encoding and is called leptin. Putting this gene into pigs can be used to explore the causes of human obesity and ultimately find a cure.
Metro Times: What is the difference between transgenic cloned pigs and pigs bred by traditional breeding methods in terms of body weight, growth rate, longevity, feeding process, and resistance to diseases?
Zeng Yangzhi: In the course of genetic transformation, genes are transferred to cells and the genes are damaged. It is possible for multiple cells to successfully breed a transgenic piglet. There are also many kinds of diseases. Damage to genes can affect the lifespan of cloned organisms. Generally, the lifespan of cloned animals is relatively short. The first cloned sheep in the world only survived for 6 years, while sheep under normal conditions can live for more than 10 years. We don't breed genetically modified clone pigs to eat meat, we don't care about its growth rate.
Metro Times: There may be great risks regarding the safety of genetically modified foods. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected the application of genetically modified salmon for human consumption. Can these genetically modified pork be used as food on the table?
Zeng Yangzhi: We breed genetically modified cloned pigs only for scientific research. We do not advocate that genetically modified foods should be rushed to the table and must be evaluated for genetic safety before they can be used. There is a difference between genetic safety and traditional genetics. In the genetic science community, genetically modified foods are currently highly controversial. Be cautious before genetic safety assessments are made clear. With regard to genetically modified foods, the entire world is now very cautious. The purpose of our genetically modified cloned pigs is to establish an animal model of a certain disease for research and exploration to treat this disease.
Metro Times: At present, what kind of status is the biological genetic research work in Yunnan Province?
Zeng Yangzhi: The research on the miniature pig inbred line, from the international point of view, this work basically catch up with the world advanced level; from the domestic point of view, is in an advanced position. (Reporter Yang Xu)
â— Background information
Why pigs are used for experiments
Pigs are very similar to humans in terms of anatomy, physiology and metabolism, and their metabolism, organ size and function are also similar. They are ideal biomedical experimental animals. However, due to the large size of the general merchandise, it has not been used. Because inbred pigs are difficult to cultivate successfully, from the 1950s onwards, countries have turned to small and multi-species pigs for cross-breeding into small-scale or miniature pigs, widely used in biomedical research.
GM technology
Transgenic technology introduces artificially isolated and modified genes into the organism's genome. Due to the introduction of gene expression, genetically modifiable modifications of the organism's traits are called Transgene technology.
People often say that "genetic engineering", "genetic engineering", and "genetic transformation" are all synonymous with genetically modified genes.
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