Bioscientifica Proceedings

The introduction of high-density SNP arrays in livestock species has enabled genomic evaluations on a scale not possible just a few years ago. Faster genetic gains are realized from application of genomics in pigs by increasing the accuracy of selection. This is especially important for lowly heritable reproductive traits, where female selection candidates have not yet expressed a phenotype at the point of selection and male candidates have no phenotype at all. Litter si...

The introduction of high-density SNP arrays in livestock species has enabled genomic evaluations on a scale not possible just a few years ago. Faster genetic gains are realized from application of genomics in pigs by increasing the accuracy of selection. This is especially important for lowly heritable reproductive traits, where female selection candidates have not yet expressed a phenotype at the point of selection and male candidates have no phenotype at all. Litter si...

The derivation of pluripotent stem cells from mouse and human embryos and the reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) has initiated a new era of research in the field of regenerative medicine. The need for these cells to be tested in relevant animal models, as well as their potential to be used in the genetic engineering of livestock, has generated significant interest in the establishment of pluripotent stem cell lines from farm animals...

In some situations, the pig has advantages over the mouse as a model in biomedical research. The availability of pluripotent cell lines is likely to broaden this appeal. Here we review progress in the derivation and characterization of embryonic stem cells (ESC) and induced pluripotent lines (iPSC) from pigs. Until recently, most porcine ESC failed to meet the full criteria for pluripotency, but that may be changing as more becomes known about the culture conditions requ...

Pigs have a long standing and very successful history as biomedical model for studying human diseases and developing novel therapies mainly attributed to the many genetic, anatomical and physiological similarities with humans. Non-transgenic pig models have long been used for a wide range of human organ systems and diseases, and even complex metabolic disorders and have served as model for developing novel surgical techniques and endoscopic approaches, such as NOTES (nat...