title: The screening and identification of endogenous retrovirus free CEMPs.
abstract: The provirus DNA sequence of porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) distributed in the pig genome is the major obstacle that restricts the swine as the organ donors in xenotransplantation, and the copy number of PERV varies greatly among different breeds and individuals. In the experiment, 67 healthy, female Chinese Experimental Mini-Pigs (CEMPs) aged at 3-6 months were selected from the Animal Husbandry Station of China Agricultural University, the copy number of PERV and types of envelope protein gene (env) were then investigated by means of PCR analysis and Southern blotting. It is showed that the distribution of types of envelope protein gene in Landrace and CEMPs makes little difference, but the proportion of individuals carrying two types of envelope protein gene (env-A and env-B, which is denoted as env-AB) is much larger than those which carry only one type of envelope protein gene (env-A or env-B). Meanwhile, two endogenous retrovirus free pigs were found for the first time during our research, and the copy number of others is relatively low, which is about 10 to 20. All the results illuminate the genetic diversity of indigenous pig breeds in China and the potential of CEMPs to serve as organ donors in xenotransplantation.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China.
authors.forename: Quanzhi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Hongbing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Zhengxing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Qingcai
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zili
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Dezhi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.forename: Xiaolan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Changxin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020077:Endogenous Retroviruses / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D015751:Genes, pol; D006801:Humans; D011533:Proviruses / Q000235:genetics*; D013552:Swine / Q000821:virology*; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins