The place of farm animal species in the new genomics world of reproductive biology

Reproductive studies on farm animals have been part of the underpinnings that have led to the ready availability of low cost, safe, and nutritious food in the developed world. They have also made a significant contribution to reproductive medicine. Yet at a time when world demand for food is increasing and the National Institutes of Health budget is set to double between 1998 and 2003, funding for animal agriculture remains low, erratic, and politically vulnerable. There are also those who question whether the food animals have value any longer as comparative models for studying reproduction as it related to human health and well being. In this paper I describe how such research is presently funded at the federal level and discuss why support for agricultural science is in decline, despite many unmet needs. I then suggest that the human genome project and the developing areas of comparative gene mapping and functional genomics are beginning to provide new impetus to studies on farm animal species. Finally I argue that although rodents and, above all, the mouse, with all its genetic advantages, occupy lofty positions as models for studying reproductive processes and their abnormalities in the human, there will continue to be a need to take a broader comparative approach that will inevitably involve farm animals.     

Transgenic animals and nutrition research

Transgenic animals are useful tools for the study of biological functions of proteins and secondary gene products synthesized by the action of protein catalysts. Research in nutrition and allied fields is benefiting from their use as models to contrast normal and altered metabolism. Although food, nutritional products, and ingredients from transgenic animals have not yet reached consumers, the technologies for their production are maturing and yielding exciting results in experimental and farm animals. Regulatory governmental bodies are already issuing guidelines and legislation in anticipation of the advent of these products and ingredients. This review summarizes available technology for the production of transgenic animals, discusses their scientific and commercial potential, and examines ancillary issues relevant to the field of nutrition.     

Developments in transgenic technology: applications for medicine

Recent advances in the efficiency of transgenic technology have important implications for medicine. The production of therapeutic proteins from animal bioreactors is well established and the first products are close to market. The genetic modification of pigs to improve their suitability as organ donors for xenotransplantation has been initiated, but many challenges remain. The use of transgenesis, in combination with the method of RNA interference to knock down gene expression, has been proposed as a method for making animals resistant to viral diseases, which could reduce the likelihood of transmission to humans. Here, the latest developments in transgenic technology and their applications relevant to medicine and human health will be discussed.     

Advanced technologies for genomic analysis in farm animals and its application for QTL mapping

Rapid progress in farm animal breeding has been made in the last few decades. Advanced technologies for genomic analysis in molecular genetics have led to the identification of genes or markers associated with genes that affect economic traits. Molecular markers, large-insert libraries and RH panels have been used to build the genetic linkage maps, physical maps and comparative maps in different farm animals. Moreover, EST sequencing, genome sequencing and SNPs maps are helping us to understand how genomes function in various organisms and further areas will be studied by DNA microarray technologies and proteomics methods. Because most economically important traits in farm animals are controlled by multiple genes and the environment, the main goal of genome research in farm animals is to map and characterize genes determining QTL. There are two main strategies to identify trait loci, candidate gene association tests and genome scan approaches. In recent years, some new concepts, such as RNAi, miRNA and eQTL, have been introduced into farm animal research, especially for QTL mapping and finding QTN. Several genes that influence important traits have already been identified or are close to being identified, and some of them have been applied in farm animal breeding programs by marker-assisted selection.     

The work of the Animal Research Station, Cambridge

This paper traces the history of the Animal Research Station, Cambridge from its establishment in 1932 to its closure in 1986. The author worked there for forty years and was Director from 1979. Originally set up as a field station for Cambridge University's School of Agriculture, the Station was expanded after World War II as the Agricultural Research Council's Unit of Animal Reproduction. Beginning with semen and artificial insemination, research at the Station soon embraced superovulation and embryo transfer in farm animals. Many other technologies were also developed here, including IVF in pigs, cloning by nuclear transplantation of early embryonic cells, and the first genetically modified farm animals in Britain. This account recalls the Directors of the Station and their research teams together with details of their pioneering contribution to reproductive biology.     

养殖动物及其相关环境耐药组的研究进展

畜牧养殖业中大量抗生素的使用,导致养殖动物及其相关环境中存在大量的耐药基因/耐药细菌。这些耐药基因可以借助基因水平转移等方式在环境中进一步扩散,甚至进入食品动物随食物链传播,对生态环境、食品安全和人类健康造成极大的威胁。随着基因组学研究手段的不断进步,养殖动物及其相关环境中耐药基因的多样性和生态学分布规律被广泛揭示。文中综述了相关领域耐药基因的研究进展,探讨了其对人体健康的潜在影响,并对未来的研究方向进行了展望。     

降胆固醇乳酸菌的应用及其机理研究进展

乳酸菌除了能够改善肠道微生态环境促进人体健康外,有些乳酸菌还具有能降低人体血清胆固醇的特性。近年来许多研究都已证明某些乳杆菌、双歧杆菌及肠球菌等具有调节血脂代谢、降低人体血清胆固醇的能力。本文综述了降胆固醇乳酸菌的体外筛选模型及其降胆固醇的作用机理,以期为进一步开发相关产品提供技术依据。     

Farm animal proteomics--a review

In agricultural sciences as in all other areas of life science, the implementation of proteomics and other post-genomic tools is an important step towards more detailed understanding of the complex biological systems that control physiology and pathology of living beings. Farm animals are raised in large-scale operations, with the aim to obtain animal products for human consumption. Hence, understanding the biological traits that impact yield and quality of these products is the specific aim of much biological experimentation. However, most of the data gathered from experiments on e.g. swine and cattle are relevant not only for farm animal sciences, but also for adding to our understanding of complex biological mechanisms of health and disease in humans. The aim of this review is to present an overview of the specific topics of interest within farm animal proteomics, and to highlight some of the areas where synergy between classic model organism proteomics and farm animal proteomics is rapidly emerging. Focus will be on introducing the special biological traits that play an important role in food production, and on how proteomics may help optimize farm animal production.     

Embryo technologies and animal health - consequences for the animal following ovum pick-up, in vitro embryo production and somatic cell nuclear transfer

Mammalian reproductive technologies that aim either to complement or to transcend conventional livestock breeding options have contributed to some of the most remarkable achievements in the field of reproductive biology in recent decades. In so doing they have extended our horizons in two distinct dimensions, the first concerning what it is technically possible to achieve and the second relating to the time-frame within which an individual's life-long developmental capability is initially established and ultimately realized or undermined. Our impressions of the benefits and values, or otherwise, of technologies such as in vitro embryo production and nuclear transfer are rightly influenced by the extent to which they impinge on the health of animals either subjected to or derived from them. Here, we consider some of the health implications of oocyte/embryo-centric technologies applied to farm livestock.     

Public Health Ethics and a Status for Pets as Person-Things

Within the field of medical ethics, discussions related to public health have mainly concentrated on issues that are closely tied to research and practice involving technologies and professional services, including vaccination, screening, and insurance coverage. Broader determinants of population health have received less attention, although this situation is rapidly changing. Against this backdrop, our specific contribution to the literature on ethics and law vis-à-vis promoting population health is to open up the ubiquitous presence of pets within cities and towns for further discussion. An expanding body of research suggests that pet animals are deeply relevant to people’s health (negatively and positively). Pet bylaws adopted by town and city councils have largely escaped notice, yet they are meaningful to consider in relation to everyday practices, social norms, and cultural values, and thus in relation to population health. Nevertheless, not least because they pivot on defining pets as private property belonging to individual people, pet bylaws raise emotionally charged ethical issues that have yet to be tackled in any of the health research on pet ownership. The literature in moral philosophy on animals is vast, and we do not claim to advance this field here. Rather, we pragmatically seek to reconcile philosophical objections to pet ownership with both animal welfare and public health. In doing so, we foreground theorizations of personhood and property from sociocultural anthropology.     

Impact of genomics on animal agriculture and opportunities for animal health

Livestock production is an important source of animal protein worldwide. In the developed world meat consumption will remain steady but demand is forecast to grow enormously in developing countries. The use of genomics will speed genetic improvement and increase levels of production quickly in the developed world but might face problems in the developing world, including scientific, economic and political challenges. Considerable increases in public and private research funding will be required to develop and utilize novel tools and collections of detailed trait information on appropriate animals. The development of policies protecting the environment and managing all genetic resources will also be needed. Advances in livestock genomics have major implications for increasing food output as well as improving human health.     

Guidelines for the veterinary care of laboratory animals: report of the FELASA/ECLAM/ESLAV Joint Working Group on Veterinary Care

Veterinary professionals working in partnership with other competent persons are essential for a successful animal care and use programme. A veterinarian's primary responsibilities are defined by their own professional regulatory bodies, but in this area of work there are further opportunities for contribution, which will assist in safeguarding the health and welfare of animals used in research. These guidelines are aimed not only at veterinarians to explain their duties, and outline the opportunities to improve the health and welfare of animals under their care, but also at employers and regulators to help them meet their responsibilities. They describe the desirability for postgraduate education towards specialization in laboratory animal medicine and detail the many competencies necessary to fulfil the role of the laboratory animal veterinarian. They detail the need for veterinary expertise to promote good health and good welfare of animals used in biomedical research during husbandry as well as when under experimental procedures. Regulatory and ethical aspects are covered as are the involvement of the veterinarian in education and training of others working in the animal care and use programme. Managerial aspects, including occupational health and safety, are also areas where the veterinarian's input can assist in the successful implementation of the programme.     

干细胞与再生医学技术发展态势研究

20世纪以来,干细胞与再生医学技术一直是国际生物医学领域的热点前沿之一,它为保障人类生命健康、改善人类生存质量和延长人类寿命发挥不可替代的巨大作用。因此,美国、欧洲国家、日本和中国等科技大国均将该领域纳入了国家科研与产业发展的重点战略中,并通过专项扶持、政策补贴、立法保障等方式激励该领域的创新发展。通过对近年来国际科技战略和科技研发态势的梳理分析,发现该领域的国际战略布局规律,揭示我国在该领域的领先优势与弱点,为我国未来干细胞与再生医学技术发展提出相关参考建议。     

Livestock production: recent trends, future prospects

The livestock sector globally is highly dynamic. In developing countries, it is evolving in response to rapidly increasing demand for livestock products. In developed countries, demand for livestock products is stagnating, while many production systems are increasing their efficiency and environmental sustainability. Historical changes in the demand for livestock products have been largely driven by human population growth, income growth and urbanization and the production response in different livestock systems has been associated with science and technology as well as increases in animal numbers. In the future, production will increasingly be affected by competition for natural resources, particularly land and water, competition between food and feed and by the need to operate in a carbon-constrained economy. Developments in breeding, nutrition and animal health will continue to contribute to increasing potential production and further efficiency and genetic gains. Livestock production is likely to be increasingly affected by carbon constraints and environmental and animal welfare legislation. Demand for livestock products in the future could be heavily moderated by socio-economic factors such as human health concerns and changing socio-cultural values. There is considerable uncertainty as to how these factors will play out in different regions of the world in the coming decades.     

Farm Animal Production: Changing Agriculture in a Changing Culture

Western attitudes toward animals have undergone a gradual evolution during recent centuries, driven by the scientific recognition that humans and many other species share a common anatomical template, a common phylogenetic ancestry, and certain similarities in their social and emotional lives. This evolving view has been accompanied by a heightened popular respect for animals, which has caused increasing opposition to the relatively utilitarian treatment of animals in modern farming. Western culture also tends to venerate the pastoralist image of humans caring diligently for animals, and North Americans tend to venerate the agrarian life-style of farm families living in harmony with domestic animals and the land. These positive images, which have traditionally lent legitimacy to animal agriculture, have been diminished by changes in production methods during recent decades. The resulting debate between critics and defenders of modern animal production has led to widespread confusion and concern about how animal agriculture affects animal welfare, human health, the environment, and world food security. To resolve this situation will require research to create an accurate understanding of the diverse effects of modern animal agriculture, together with measures to harmonize agricultural practices with changing public values.     

Biotechnology in reproductive medicine

In this review I am summarizing the past and current progress in the field of pharmaceutical, diagnostic, therapeutic, and reproductive cloning in mammals. Several human gene products can be pharmaceutically explored in transgenic farm animals and employed for medical applications. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is utilizing modern molecular cloning techniques to detect genetic and chromosomal aberrations in early embryos originating from patients with inborn errors at risk for hereditary diseases or age-related risk for abnormal karyotype. Stem cell engineering from early human embryos is creating new and promising but also controversial applications for therapeutic and regenerative medicine. Potential risk factors for reproductive cloning are presented and discussed in the context of possible developmental malformations, frequently observed after embryo culture and cloning in farm animals. Future extension of biotechnology to human reproductive cloning is currently under worldwide dispute.     

Transformation of animal genomics by next-generation sequencing technologies: a decade of challenges and their impact on genetic architecture

For more than a quarter of a century, sequencing technologies from Sanger’s method to next-generation high-throughput techniques have provided fascinating opportunities in the life sciences. The continuing upward trajectory of sequencing technologies will improve livestock research and expedite the development of various new genomic and technological studies with farm animals. The use of high-throughput technologies in livestock research has increased interest in metagenomics, epigenetics, genome-wide association studies, and identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms and copy number variations. Such studies are beginning to provide revolutionary insights into biological and evolutionary processes. Farm animals, such as cattle, swine, and horses, have played a dual role as economically and agriculturally important animals as well as biomedical research models. The first part of this study explores the current state of sequencing methods, many of which are already used in animal genomic studies, and the second part summarizes the state of cattle, swine, horse, and chicken genome sequencing and illustrates its achievements during the last few years. Finally, we describe several high-throughput sequencing approaches for the improved detection of known, unknown, and emerging infectious agents, leading to better diagnosis of infectious diseases. The insights from viral metagenomics and the advancement of next-generation sequencing will strongly support specific and efficient vaccine development and provide strategies for controlling infectious disease transmission among animal populations and/or between animals and humans. However, prospective sequencing technologies will require further research and in-field testing before reaching the marketplace.     

组学视角下养殖动物消化道微生物组结构与功能研究进展北大核心

养殖动物消化道中含有大量的微生物,不仅参与动物对营养物质的消化和吸收,还对宿主生长发育及免疫起重要调节作用。动物消化道微生物组研究是目前国内外的热点领域,取得了一系列重要研究进展。深入了解养殖动物消化道微生物组的结构与功能,将为今后调控和应用消化道微生物、提高动物生产性能、改善动物胃肠道健康和实现绿色健康养殖奠定理论基础。本文以4种代表性养殖动物(牛、羊、猪和鸡)为主体,对组学视角下其消化道微生物群落结构、功能等研究进展进行总结和分析;并对未来研究方向进行展望。