title: Microbiological characterization of a newly established pig breed, Aachen Minipigs.
abstract: To alleviate the shortage of human donor organs or tissues for the treatment of organ and tissue failure including diabetes, pigs are considered suitable donor animals. As organs from conventional pigs are usually too large, those from minipigs may be better suited. We recently characterized the Göttingen Minipigs, a breed well characterized concerning the presence of zoonotic microorganisms and found hepatitis E virus (HEV) and porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV) in some animals. Here, we characterize another minipig, the Aachen Minipig (AaMP), a pig breed recently established close to the town Aachen in Germany.
  
  
  
  The animals were tested for the prevalence and expression of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) and the presence of some selected microorganisms, among them HEV, PCMV, and porcine lymphotropic herpesviruses (PLHVs) using highly sensitive and specific PCR and RT-PCR methods. In addition, we screened for antibodies against HEV and PLHV.
  
  
  
  PERV-A, PERV-B, and PERV-C sequences were found in the genome of all Aachen Minipigs. HEV RNA was found by real-time RT-PCR in most, and DNA of PCMV, PLHV-2, and PLHV-3 was found by PCR in some animals. The animals were free of eight other microorganisms tested, but some were seropositive for porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV).
  
  
  
  Based on medical examinations by veterinarians, the AaMP are in a good health status and seem to harbor only few microorganisms. To improve their status for use as donor pigs in xenotransplantation, the viruses detected might be eliminated by selection of negative animals, Cesarean section, and vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch Institute, HIV and other Retroviruses, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Plotzki
authors.affiliation: Aachen Minipig, Heinsberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Heinrichs
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute for Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kubícková
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute for Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: Rainer G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Ulrich
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch Institute, HIV and other Retroviruses, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Denner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020077:Endogenous Retroviruses; D005260:Female; D016752:Hepatitis E virus; D006564:Herpesviridae; D053485:Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus; D011247:Pregnancy; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D013556:Swine, Miniature
keywords: PERV; cytomegalovirus; hepatitis E virus; lymphotropic herpesviruses; porcine viruses; virus safety; xenotransplantation