Always wanted a mini pet pig but put off by those before-and-after horror shots of tiny piglets growing into huge hogs? Good news: a research institute in China is going to solve the problem, huanqiu.com reported.
The BGI (Beijing Genomics Institute) has used a gene-editing tool used to make precise changes to DNA, disabling genes responsible for growth in fetal pig cells so that the pigs only grow to around 15kg. In contrast, the original Bama pigs weigh between 35kg and 50kg.
The pigs were originally developed as models for human disease testing, but now BGI has announced that they would like to sell the tailor-made animals as pets for over 10,000 yuan each.
Since pigs will be genetically modified, pet owners will be able to choose the colors and sex of their pigs in future. However, whether the pigs will live a long healthy life remains to be seen.
This is an exciting step forward in a research field where these technologies promise the possibility of curing genetic diseases caused by faulty DNA. Besides, generating a smaller pig makes research cheaper and easier.
Pigs are often used for gene editing experiments because they are closer to humans than mice and rats in terms of physiology and genetics making them useful for human disease modelling.
