• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Friday, October 24, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

Pig gene advance could boost sperm stocks from prized animals

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
January 14, 2017
in Science News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Gene-editing techniques could help to improve stocks of farmed pigs by boosting supplies of sperm from prized sires.

Scientists have created male pigs that could be used as surrogates capable of producing sperm that contains the genetic blueprint of sought-after pigs.

The surrogates have functional testes but do not have specialised stem cells that are required to produce sperm containing their own genetic information, the researchers say.

Stem cells from male pigs with desirable characteristics – such as greater resilience to disease – could be transplanted into the surrogates to produce limitless supplies of their valuable sperm.

Previous efforts to preserve sperm stem cells from prized pigs by transplanting them into surrogate pigs have so far had limited success.

Existing methods involve using chemotherapy drugs or irradiation to remove sperm stem cells from the recipients before transplanting donor cells. These approaches can also damage other tissues in the testes that are needed for sperm production, however.

Researchers used a sophisticated genetic tool called CRISPR/Cas9 to alter individual letters of the pig's genetic code leading to inactivation of a gene called NANOS2.

The scientists found that pigs with two copies of the DNA change do not have sperm stem cells and cannot produce sperm, making them completely sterile.

All other aspects of testicular development were completely unaffected and the animals are otherwise healthy. Female pigs were also unaffected by the change to their genetic code.

Pigs with only one copy of the DNA change are still fertile and could be used to produce more of the surrogate animals using conventional breeding techniques, researchers say.

The team says the breakthrough will allow farmers to preserve sperm from prized animals in perpetuity.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, Washington State University, the University of Maryland and the US Department of Agriculture's Animal Bioscience and Biotechnology Laboratory worked together on the project.

The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Professor Bruce Whitelaw, Head of Developmental Biology at the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, said: "This could dramatically improve the production efficiency and quality of farmed pigs, as well as enhancing other desirable traits such as disease resilience in production animals."

###

The Roslin Institute receives strategic funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Media Contact

Jen Middleton
[email protected]
44-131-650-6514
@edinunimedia

http://www.ed.ac.uk

############

Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag

Share12Tweet7Share2ShareShareShare1

Related Posts

Silencing SOX2OT Lowers Lung Cancer Cell Aggressiveness

October 24, 2025

Intellectual Disability and Behavioral Issues in Fragile X

October 24, 2025

Factors Influencing Nurse Adverse Event Reporting in China

October 24, 2025

Developing a Canadian Resource for Autism Mental Health

October 24, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    1278 shares
    Share 510 Tweet 319
  • Stinkbug Leg Organ Hosts Symbiotic Fungi That Protect Eggs from Parasitic Wasps

    308 shares
    Share 123 Tweet 77
  • ESMO 2025: mRNA COVID Vaccines Enhance Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy

    180 shares
    Share 72 Tweet 45
  • New Study Suggests ALS and MS May Stem from Common Environmental Factor

    132 shares
    Share 53 Tweet 33

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Silencing SOX2OT Lowers Lung Cancer Cell Aggressiveness

Intellectual Disability and Behavioral Issues in Fragile X

Factors Influencing Nurse Adverse Event Reporting in China

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 66 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.