Using genome surgery, researchers from the UK want to breed pigs that are resistant to African swine fever (ASF). Using genetic engineering, scientists at the Roslin Institute in Edingurgh, Scotland, want to breed pigs that are resistant to ASF.
It has been known for some time that some African pigs, such as the wart or the bush pig, are less responsive to infection with the ASP virus. Researchers have also identified the cause of natural resistance: African pigs differ from domestic and wild boars in one gene. This so-called RELA gene triggers an overreaction of the immune system in a virus infection and is therefore responsible for the rapid course of the disease of the ASF. Wart and bush pigs, on the other hand, have another variant of the RELA gene. The researchers believe that it dampens the immune response and makes the animals so robust against the virus. Although the African pig species carry the ASF pathogen in themselves, it does not trigger any disease in them.
In one experiment, scientists have slightly modified the domestic pig RELA gene by exchanging five bases of DNA. In this way, they could rewrite the gene to match exactly the variant found in warthog. These targeted, selective changes in the RELA gene were performed on freshly fertilized egg cells of domestic swine. In the meantime animals have grown out of it. Researchers at a completed station at the Roslin Institute are now investigating whether these pigs are actually more resistant to African swine fever thanks to the altered RELA gene.
Source: agroxxi.ru.
