China Is Genetically Engineering Mini Pigs To Sell As Pets
The $1,600 mini pigs are created using gene-editing techniques and cloning.
Carla Herreria, Associate Editor, HuffPost Hawaii
We’d all like our baby pets to stay perpetually tiny, but scientists in China are taking that desire to a whole new level.
BGI, a genomics institute located in Shenzhen, announced in late September that it is genetically engineering miniature pigs to sell as pets for $1,600 each.
The institute creates the micropigs by using a gene-editing technique that alters the genomes of a Bama — an already small breed of pig — to make it even smaller. BGI uses TALENs (an enzyme) to disable one of two copies of the growth hormone receptor gene in a Bama’s fetal cells.
BGI then clones pigs from the fetus, which produces stunted male Bama clones that are, in turn, naturally bred with normal females. Half of the resulting offspring are micropigs.
Unlike normal Bamas — which can weigh up to 100 pounds — these lab-created pigs only grow up to 30 pounds when mature, around the same weight as a medium-sized dog.
The micropigs were originally used as lab animals that acted as models for human disease, according to Nature magazine. Pigs, specifically smaller breeds of pig, are commonly used as model organisms in biomedical research because they “closely [resemble] man in anatomy, physiology and genetics,” according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.