Safety assessment of sFat-1 transgenic pigs by detecting their co-habitant microbe in intestinal tract

Abstract

Transgenic pigs containing sFat-1 (synthesized fatty acid desaturase-1) gene were produced by DNA microinjection. The meat of these pigs contain ω-3 unsaturated fatty acid which is beneficial to the health of human being. The aim of this study is to assess the effects of expression of sFat-1 in pig on the health of animal themselves and on the safety of environment from the angle of the changes in microbe population of pig intestinal tract. Four F1 male semi-sibling of sFat-1 transgenic pigs and four F1 female semi-sibling of sFat-1 transgenic pigs were used as experimental animals, together with their none transgenic siblings as control animals. For inspection of any change in populations of microbial flora in various parts of intestinal tract and feces of sFat-1 transgenic pigs total aerobe, total anaerobe, main beneficial bacteria and main harmful bacteria were cultured and analyzed. At the same time foreign gene drift was assessed by PCR amplifying foreign fragment in samples of total aerobe and total anaerobe. Results indicated that in comparison with control pig microbe population of various species in different parts of intestinal tract and feces of sFat-1 transgenic pig remained unchanged and foreign gene sequence could not be detected in DNA of total aerobe and total anaerobe. In conclusion, the data of this study suggest that microbe population in intestinal tract and feces of transgenic pig was not influenced by the expression of transferred foreign gene sFat-1 and also foreign gene drifting from animal genome to microbial genome must be a rare incident.