title: Genetically modified pigs for medicine and agriculture.
abstract: The ability to genetically modify pigs has enabled scientists to create pigs that are beneficial to humans in ways that were previously unimaginable. Improvements in the methods to make genetic modifications have opened up the possibilities of introducing transgenes, knock-outs and knock-ins with precision. The benefits to medicine include the production of pharmaceuticals, the provision of organs for xenotransplantation into humans, and the development of models of human diseases. The benefits to agriculture include resistance to disease, altering the carcass composition such that it is healthier to consume, improving the pig's resistance to heat stress, and protecting the environment. Additional types of genetic modifications will likely provide animals with characteristics that will benefit humans in currently unimagined ways.
authors.affiliation: Division of Animal Science, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 6521, USA. PratherR@missouri.edu
authors.forename: Randall S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Prather
authors.forename: Miaoda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Yifan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dai
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics*; D019976:Cloning, Organism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D006801:Humans; D023421:Models, Animal; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000235:genetics; D013552:Swine / Q000235:genetics*; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D019737:Transplants
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins