Genetic engineering and cloning may improve milk, livestock production

In the past, procedures such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer have been used in the genetic manipulation of livestock. Advances in gene and quantitative-trait mapping will enhance these traditional animal-breeding approaches to improve farm animals. By genetically engineering livestock, scientists hope to produce animals with altered traits such as disease resistance, wool growth, body growth and milk composition. Laboratories world wide have produced transgenic pigs, sheep, goats and cattle, but currently the efficiency of producing the animals remains low and the procedure is expensive. Within the next few decades, however, genetically engineered dairy cows could become available. Cloning may also be used to duplicate animals with traits that are difficult to capture through traditional breeding practices. By 2025, cloning and breeding of elite animals could be carried out by companies comparable to those that now comprise the artificial insemination industry, which selects and breeds top dairy stock. The acceptance of genetically engineered animals by industry will depend on its economic benefits and whether consumers are prepared to buy the resulting products.

[1]  I. Wilmut,et al.  "Viable Offspring Derived from Fetal and Adult Mammalian Cells" (1997), by Ian Wilmut et al. , 2014 .

[2]  J. Bishop Transgenic Animals in Agriculture , 1999, Heredity.

[3]  A. Gutiérrez-Adán,et al.  Alterations of the physical characteristics of milk from transgenic mice producing bovine kappa-casein. , 1996, Journal of dairy science.

[4]  J. Murray,et al.  Mammary Gland Expression of Transgenes and the Potential for Altering the Properties of Milk , 1995, Bio/Technology.

[5]  R. Bremel,et al.  Genetic engineering of milk composition: modification of milk components in lactating transgenic animals. , 1993, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[6]  R. Wall,et al.  Making transgenic livestock: Genetic engineering on a large scale , 1992, Journal of cellular biochemistry.

[7]  J. Gibson,et al.  Transgene effects, introgression strategies and testing schemes in pigs , 1992 .

[8]  F. Gannon,et al.  Transgenic farm animals. , 1990, Journal of biotechnology.

[9]  R. Jiménez-Flores,et al.  Genetic Engineering of the Caseins to Modify the Behavior of Milk During Processing: A Review , 1988 .

[10]  F H Ruddle,et al.  Genetic transformation of mouse embryos by microinjection of purified DNA. , 1980, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[11]  R. Schwartz,et al.  Expression of Insulin-like Growth Factor-I in Skeletal Muscle of Transgenic Swine , 1999 .

[12]  A. Robins,et al.  Production and Analysis of Transgenic Pigs Containing a Metallothionein Porcine Growth Hormone Gene Construct , 1999 .

[13]  J. Murray,et al.  Changing the Composition and Properties of Milk , 1999 .

[14]  J. Murray,et al.  Antimicrobial properties of human lysozyme transgenic mouse milk. , 1998, Journal of food protection.