How Were the Transgenic Pigs Made - Assignment Example

Transgenic pigs How were these transgenic pigs made? Transgenic pigs were produced by the transfer of transgenic somatic cells. The research is done on how this comes to be proved that a fetal had been derived from fibroblast cells. They were then transduced with the duplication of defective vectors that contained an enhanced product named as green fluorescent protein (EGFP). The somatic transgenic cells used to be treated with colchicine (Houdebine 12). The products synchronized the cells to produce G2/M stage. This product was later used as donor nuclei for the transfers. This donor cells were transferred to perivitalline space of the enucleated in vitro matured porcine oocytes and fused ten activated wit electrical pulses. The reconstructed oocytes proved that nuclei did envelope breakdown and the premature chromosomes condensed. On the fifth day, most embryos were diploid. The embryos were transferred to surrogate gilts, and three of them were found pregnant.One of them delivered a healthy transgenic piglet that did express the EGFP. Thereby, it was concluded that the combination of somatic cells by the replication defective vector with the nuclear transfer of colchicine treated donor does produce the transgenic pigs (Houdebine 19). In summary, the insertion of the DNA into the pronuclei of zygotes was a critical experiment that led to the research of transgenic pigs. The next stage was the transduction of the oocyte, which enables the integration of the defective retrovirus into the chromosomes. The process was applied to the pigs after a success in cattle. How well do these transgenic pigs grow? Five pigs were used for the experiment; three were female and two male pigs. The effects of the transgene were same for both sexes. Transplant of organs was the main treatment aid aimed for with the usage of pigs. Body part tissues thereby are transferred into transgenic pigs. This is because transplant can be carried out between two species that are discordant such as the pigs and the human (Houdebine 30). This is because they have fewer genes that ate in common. Thereby so many pigs have been bred that are said to bear plenty of human flags in their cells. Other benefits of pigs are tat for years they have been used by human to treat diabetes. There insulin was known to cure diabetic diseases. Their heart valves were also used to replace those of human that were damaged. Growth hormones were installed to the pigs to increase their growth rate and reduce the amount of feed that was required per unit of their weight gain (Houdebine 35). The most positive aspect with the hormone was that it ensured that the transgenic pigs had reduced fats. Despite the positive attribute, it made the pig have a reduced sex drive. Is applied to both male and female pigs. What are the expected environmental impacts of using transgenic pigs? There have been abridged environmentally friendly impacts because at the outset livestock was considered harmful to the environment. After the production of transgenic animals, there have been reduced environmental footprints (Houdebine 65). There have been uses of limited land and water resources and wit much soil and underground water protection. Pigs for instance, do not utilize dietary phosphorous. This can cause pollution problems to the environment through their waste products. Nevertheless the transgenic pigs that express salivary phytase in their early stages do digest dietary phytase phosphorous. The expected environmental impacts of this animals can be grouped into tree main categories. These are; agricultural, medicinal, and industrial implications. Agriculture implications When technology of developing transgenic pigs was developed, it eased the process of bleeding animals. This is because it made it possible to produce an animal wit desired traits in a shorter period (Houdebine 55). Some of the traits of desired pigs were greater than before in terms of their yield production, very extraordinary growth rate, and not as much of fatty pork. The traditional way of breeding animals was difficult and consumed a lot of time. The pigs formed are known to fight against diseases such as influenza. Medical applications Many patients die every year due to lack of vital organs transplants. These organs are liver heart and kidneys. Animals such as transgenic pigs can be used to provide the transplant organs that are needed. This will help minimize the death occurrences of people with lack of organs (Houdebine 33). Currently, xenotransplantation is hampered wit pugs proteins, which can cause a donor to reject the organs. Nevertheless, research is being done to replace the pig protein with human proteins to the animals. Industrial applications They are known to produce microorganisms that can be used in enzymes to speed up reactions in industries. Thereby, there are used to ease work of fasten a reaction in the industry. Based on my observation, transgenic pigs are of great importance to human lives; because, they can be used to produce human organs thereby limiting death occurrences of human due to lack of organs. They are also agriculturally, environmentally and economically beneficial to people. Therefore, a lot of these animals should be genetically improved and produced to better the lives of people. Their positive effects are more compared to their non-existence. They are also easily produced compared to the traditional breeding that used to be done. Inherently, the application of transgenic pigs plays a critical role in changing the behavior of pigs and its relation to human beings. These animals will help in the production of medicine and enhance the research in similar fields (Houdebine 98). In essence, it will help in the prevention of diseases in agriculture, protection of the environment, and enable xenotransplantation into human beings. For instance, the transgenic porcine livers that show the albumin genes can be used in the study of bio-artificial liver. In other words, they can be used in the development of human liver transplantation technology. Overtly, the production of pig human hybrid genes are essential in future research (Houdebine 90). The patients with liver failures have a promising future owing to the discovery. In the same regards, the transgenic pigs will help in the production of meat that is environmentally safe, healthier, and lean to human beings. Work Cited Houdebine, Louis-Marie. Transgenic Animals. London: CRC Press, 2007. Read More