eLife (May 2018)
Novel transgenic pigs with enhanced growth and reduced environmental impact
- Xianwei Zhang,
- Zicong Li,
- Huaqiang Yang,
- Dewu Liu,
- Gengyuan Cai,
- Guoling Li,
- Jianxin Mo,
- Dehua Wang,
- Cuili Zhong,
- Haoqiang Wang,
- Yue Sun,
- Junsong Shi,
- Enqin Zheng,
- Fanming Meng,
- Mao Zhang,
- Xiaoyan He,
- Rong Zhou,
- Jian Zhang,
- Miaorong Huang,
- Ran Zhang,
- Ning Li,
- Mingzhe Fan,
- Jinzeng Yang,
- Zhenfang Wu
Affiliations
- Xianwei Zhang
- ORCiD
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China; National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Wens Foodstuff Group Co., Ltd, Yunfu, China
- Zicong Li
- ORCiD
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Huaqiang Yang
- ORCiD
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China; National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Wens Foodstuff Group Co., Ltd, Yunfu, China
- Dewu Liu
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Gengyuan Cai
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China; National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Wens Foodstuff Group Co., Ltd, Yunfu, China
- Guoling Li
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Jianxin Mo
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Dehua Wang
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Cuili Zhong
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Haoqiang Wang
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Yue Sun
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Junsong Shi
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Wens Foodstuff Group Co., Ltd, Yunfu, China
- Enqin Zheng
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Fanming Meng
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Mao Zhang
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Xiaoyan He
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China; National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Wens Foodstuff Group Co., Ltd, Yunfu, China
- Rong Zhou
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Wens Foodstuff Group Co., Ltd, Yunfu, China
- Jian Zhang
- National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Wens Foodstuff Group Co., Ltd, Yunfu, China
- Miaorong Huang
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Ran Zhang
- College of Biological Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
- Ning Li
- College of Biological Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
- Mingzhe Fan
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
- Jinzeng Yang
- Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, United States
- Zhenfang Wu
- ORCiD
- College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China; National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Wens Foodstuff Group Co., Ltd, Yunfu, China
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.34286
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 7
Abstract
In pig production, inefficient feed digestion causes excessive nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen to be released to the environment. To address the issue of environmental emissions, we established transgenic pigs harboring a single-copy quad-cistronic transgene and simultaneously expressing three microbial enzymes, β-glucanase, xylanase, and phytase in the salivary glands. All the transgenic enzymes were successfully expressed, and the digestion of non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) and phytate in the feedstuff was enhanced. Fecal nitrogen and phosphorus outputs in the transgenic pigs were reduced by 23.2–45.8%, and growth rate improved by 23.0% (gilts) and 24.4% (boars) compared with that of age-matched wild-type littermates under the same dietary treatment. The transgenic pigs showed an 11.5–14.5% improvement in feed conversion rate compared with the wild-type pigs. These findings indicate that the transgenic pigs are promising resources for improving feed efficiency and reducing environmental impact.
Keywords
