Scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have bred gene-edited lean pigs

Chinese scientists announced Wednesday that they have used gene editing to grow a group of healthy lean pigs, 24 percent less fat than normal pigs.
the work was led by Zhao Jianguo of the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and published in a new
American Journal. Some experts believe that this is an important development. But there are also doubts about the public's acceptance of gene-edited lean pigs.
Zhao Jianguo's team, using CRISPR, a new generation of gene-editing tools, inserted a gene called de-coupled protein 1 (UCP1) into pig cells, reducing fat deposits, increasing lean meat rates, and eventually producing pigs with 24 percent less fat than normal pigs.
Zhao Jianguo told Xinhua, "This provides good material for the breeding of new breeds of pigs, as well as a conceptual validation for rapid improvement of the number of pig's sexuality through gene editing techniques."
explained that the UCP1 gene plays an important role in maintaining the body temperature and energy balance of animals. Studies have shown that knocking out UDP1 can cause mice to get fat, and activating it can prevent diet-induced obesity. But the ancestors of modern pigs lost the UDP1 gene 20 million years ago.
To this end, they used gene-editing tools to integrate the UDP1 gene into the genomes of fibroblasts in pig fetuses, crafting more than 2,500 cloned pig embryos, which were then injected into 13 surrogate sows, three of which became pregnant and gave birth to 12 male piglets.
compared with wild pigs, the body temperature regulation ability of these piglets was significantly enhanced, but the fat rate and thickness were significantly reduced, and the lean meat rate was significantly increased. The analysis shows that the UCP1 gene mainly reduces fat deposition and reduces fat rate by promoting fat hydrolysing.
same time, the UCP1 gene does not affect the amount of activity in pigs and does not lead to energy waste. The pigs were slaughtered at the age of six months, and carcogen analysis showed that their weight and feed conversion rate were no different from those of wild pigs. In addition, one of the 12 male piglets mated with other sows and successfully gave birth to healthy offspring. (Source: Xinhua News Agency, Lin Xiaochun)