Advances In the Application of CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing Technology in Pig Breeding and Production

Abstract

China is the richest pig breeding resource in the world. According to different conditions in different regions, pigs with different excellent traits were bred. Most pig breeds have the advantages of high fat content and strong environmental adaptability, but have the disadvantages of low lean meat rate and poor meat quality. Some pig breeds have poor resistance to disease and are prone to widespread infection. Only crossing with western pig breeds will introduce unfavorable genes, resulting in a sharp decline in the number of local pig breeds, but there are also shortcomings such as long crossing time. Gene editing (GE) technology has become a new way to regulate pig breeding. In recent years, with the exploration of the regular clustering structure and mechanism of the short palindrome repeat/CRISPR associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system, GE technology based on CRISPR/Cas9 can improve lean meat rate and obtain disease resistance by knocking out specific genes and enhancing specific gene expression. This technology can also change the reproductive organs of domestic pigs to control their sex and improve the quality of meat. This article presents the application of CRISPR/Cas9 GE technology in pig breeding and production.