China News Service, Hefei, March 1 (Cao Lei Wulan) The reporter learned from Anhui Agricultural University on the 1st that the somatic cell cloning and embryo transplantation experiments of Dingyuan pigs carried out by the team of Professor Yin Zongjun from the School of Animal Science and Technology of the school were successful, and 4 pigs The Large White sows conceived through embryo transfer successfully gave birth to 56 Dingyuan piglets with black body coat and good health, with an average litter size of 14 piglets.
The embryo transfer pregnancy rate and litter size of this study have reached the international advanced level.
Dingyuan pig is one of the excellent local breeds in my country. It is an ancient local breed originally produced between the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers in Anhui Province. It has the advantages of high fecundity, resistance to rough feeding, excellent meat quality, and strong adaptability. The List of Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources Protection is the gene bank of national livestock and poultry genetic resources, and also a valuable material for future breeding of improved breed pigs with its own intellectual property rights.
In the first half of 2022, with the support of the Third National Livestock Genetic Resources Survey and Accurate Identification Project and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Anhui Province, Yin Zongjun's team collected Anhui Huai pigs (Dingyuan pigs, Wanbei pigs, Huoshouhei pigs) Tissue, gene and semen samples of 350 pigs (covering all pedigrees) of 7 local pig breeds/strains, including Wei pig, Anqing Liubai pig, Wannan flower pig and Wannan black pig, carried out the organization of local pig breeds in Anhui Province The all-round biological preservation of samples, genomes and frozen semen has realized the dual preservation system of living and biological resources of local pig genetic resources in Anhui Province, and effectively guaranteed the local pig genetic gene bank.
Afterwards, with the support of projects such as joint research on improved pig breeds in Anhui Province, the National Pig Breed Industry Improvement Project, and major scientific and technological projects in Anhui Province, the research team cooperated with Anhui Nature Breeding Pig Co., Ltd. and Henan Chuangyuan Biological Company to carry out Dingyuan Pig somatic cell cloning research, after a series of steps such as collecting tissue samples from breeding pigs, cultivating cloned embryos, and screening surrogate sows, the somatic cell clone embryo transfer of 5 surrogate sows was completed in October, and 4 of them were successfully pregnant.
Compared with the conventional methods of living body preservation and frozen semen preservation, the advantage of somatic cell cloning technology is that it only needs to collect the ear margin tissue of excellent breeding pigs, separate and culture fibroblasts, and then use nuclear transfer technology to produce embryos, so that these excellent individuals can Rebirth.
This long-term preservation technology not only avoids the possible biosafety risks of introducing live pigs, but also greatly saves endangered local germplasm resources.
Especially under major epidemics such as African swine fever, it has great theoretical and practical significance for the protection of local pig germplasm resources and realistic sustainable production.
The successful delivery of somatic cell cloned Dingyuan pigs marks that Anhui Province has fully grasped the somatic cell cryopreservation method of local pig genetic resources, realized the long-term preservation and live recovery of genetic resources, and the protection of high-quality livestock and poultry germplasm resources has reached a new level It also means that a key step has been taken towards the revitalization of the seed industry in Anhui Province.
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