Genome analysis could aid human, pig health
Published on
This article is more than 3 years old
Recent analysis of a domestic pig’s genome may help to improve models for research in human medicine and lead to discoveries useful for agriculture.
The analysis also provides a better understanding of pigs’ history, adaptation, and domestication.
The research findings were published in the scientific article “Analyses of pig genomes provide insight into porcine demography and evolution” (Nature 2012;491:393-398). The research team assembled and analyzed a draft genome sequence from a domestic female Duroc pig and compared the genome with those of wild and domestic pigs from Europe and Asia, according to the article.
The paper particularly notes the usefulness of pigs as biomedical models for research into human diseases. For example, the researchers compared protein sequences shared between humans and pigs and saw 112 positions where the porcine protein has the same amino acid implicated in a human disease, according to the article.
More information is available at www.nature.com.