摘要
Polyunsaturated fatty acids （PUFAs） are essential for normal growth in mammals, especially the ω-3 PUFAs, which play important roles in preventing several life-threatening diseases, such as coronary heart disease and diabetes. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the sFat-1 gene from Caenorhabditis briggsae could be functionally expressed in transgenic pigs, and whether the transgenic could synthesize high quality ω-3 PUFAs endogenously. In this study, a gene construct consisting of CMV promoter and 1.9 kb cDNA of ω-3 fatty acid desaturase gene （sFat-1） from C. briggsae was injected into the male pronucleus of pig embryos by microinjection. The piglets were screened for the transgene by PCR, Southern blot and reverse transcription-PCR analysis. Pigs that give positive results were mated with wild-type pigs to produce the next generation and the transmission of transgene was examined by PCR analysis. Fatty acids compositions of various tissues in the transgenic pigs were then analyzed by gas chromatograph. A total of 878 embryos were transferred into 42 recipients, among which 29 successfully got pregnant and gave birth to a total of 162 piglets, and 8 of them were identified to be transgenic. Fatty acid compositions in the transgenic pigs were altered, and the levels of ω-6：ω-3 ratios were decreased from 14.53 in the control to 2.62 in Fat-1 transgenic pigs. A number of primary sFat-1-transgenic pigs were bred in this study, which lays the foundation for cultivation of new varieties of transgenic pigs.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids （PUFAs） are essential for normal growth in mammals, especially the ω-3 PUFAs, which play important roles in preventing several life-threatening diseases, such as coronary heart disease and diabetes. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the sFat-1 gene from Caenorhabditis briggsae could be functionally expressed in transgenic pigs, and whether the transgenic could synthesize high quality ω-3 PUFAs endogenously. In this study, a gene construct consisting of CMV promoter and 1.9 kb cDNA of ω-3 fatty acid desaturase gene （sFat-1） from C. briggsae was injected into the male pronucleus of pig embryos by microinjection. The piglets were screened for the transgene by PCR, Southern blot and reverse transcription-PCR analysis. Pigs that give positive results were mated with wild-type pigs to produce the next generation and the transmission of transgene was examined by PCR analysis. Fatty acids compositions of various tissues in the transgenic pigs were then analyzed by gas chromatograph. A total of 878 embryos were transferred into 42 recipients, among which 29 successfully got pregnant and gave birth to a total of 162 piglets, and 8 of them were identified to be transgenic. Fatty acid compositions in the transgenic pigs were altered, and the levels of ω-6：ω-3 ratios were decreased from 14.53 in the control to 2.62 in Fat-1 transgenic pigs. A number of primary sFat-1-transgenic pigs were bred in this study, which lays the foundation for cultivation of new varieties of transgenic pigs.
基金
supported by the National Transgenic Breeding Project, China (2008ZX08010-004)
the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30830080)
the National Basic Research Program of China (G2006CB102105, 2009CB941604)
the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (20060110Z1039, 2008AA10Z143)
