title: Safety assessment of sFat-1 transgenic pigs by detecting their co-habitant microbe in intestinal tract.
abstract: Transgenic pigs containing sFat-1 (synthesized fatty acid desaturase-1) gene were produced by DNA microinjection. The meat of these pigs contain ω-3 unsaturated fatty acid which is beneficial to the health of human being. The aim of this study is to assess the effects of expression of sFat-1 in pig on the health of animal themselves and on the safety of environment from the angle of the changes in microbe population of pig intestinal tract. Four F1 male semi-sibling of sFat-1 transgenic pigs and four F1 female semi-sibling of sFat-1 transgenic pigs were used as experimental animals, together with their none transgenic siblings as control animals. For inspection of any change in populations of microbial flora in various parts of intestinal tract and feces of sFat-1 transgenic pigs total aerobe, total anaerobe, main beneficial bacteria and main harmful bacteria were cultured and analyzed. At the same time foreign gene drift was assessed by PCR amplifying foreign fragment in samples of total aerobe and total anaerobe. Results indicated that in comparison with control pig microbe population of various species in different parts of intestinal tract and feces of sFat-1 transgenic pig remained unchanged and foreign gene sequence could not be detected in DNA of total aerobe and total anaerobe. In conclusion, the data of this study suggest that microbe population in intestinal tract and feces of transgenic pig was not influenced by the expression of transferred foreign gene sFat-1 and also foreign gene drifting from animal genome to microbial genome must be a rare incident.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Farm Animal Genetic Resources and Utilization of Ministry of Agriculture of China and Inspection Test Center for Biosafety of Genetically Modified Animal and Feed (Beijing) of Ministry of Agriculture of China, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Maoxue
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Xinmin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Wenke
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Erhui
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Hongxing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shulin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Wentao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Kui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D040961:Genetic Drift; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D012449:Safety; D013552:Swine / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases