Pig genome insights could improve human health

An international consortium of scientists, including practitioners from Cambridge and Norwich UK, has published in Nature a high resolution genome reference sequence of the pig that could help unlock new ways of improving the health of animals and humans.

Researchers found important genetic differences between wild boar from Asia and Europe, which split from a common ancestor around a million years ago. These differences were also identified in genes of modern Western and Chinese breeds of domesticated pigs, adding weight to the theory that pigs were domesticated in western Eurasia and East Asia.

This improved understanding of the genetic differences that developed through domestication, will help to inform future breeding programmes. By comparing 21,000 genes identified in pigs with their counterparts in human, mice, dogs, horse and cows, it has emerged that the immune response genes used to fight infection are rapidly evolving in pigs.

Further understanding of the fundamental biology of these genes and how and why they have evolved more rapidly, could help direct future breeding to improve pig health and the ability to fight disease.

Several examples were identified where the pig genes shared similarities with the form of gene identified in humans that have also been linked with diseases, such as diabetes, obesity and Alzheimers.

These findings demonstrate the potential of pigs as a biomedical model to provide a beneficial insight into common complex human diseases. Analysis from this study also gives an insight into the genes that enable high quality pork production, which can help producers in future breed high quality swine, improve sustainability and lower costs.

The study also provides an explanation for the renowned ability for pigs to seek out truffles, picking out their signature scent amongst the complex scents of a woodland floor and locating them underground.

With 1,301 unique olfactory receptor genes, the pig has more genes than have been identified in human, dog or mouse, but similar numbers to those in the rat. This highlights the importance of a heightened sense of smell in scavenging animals.

Dr Mario Caccamo, head of bioinformatics for TGAC in Norfolk, who joined the project while at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, led the assembly of the pig genome sequence and is one of the primary authors on the Nature paper.

Dr Caccamo said: The publication of the swine genome reference is the culmination of a great team effort involving a large consortium of scientists from across the world.

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Pig genome insights could improve human health