Pig Genome Editing for Agriculture: Achievements and Challenges

The remaining problems in pig farming may no longer be solved with traditional methods. The search for genetic variants associated with desired characteristics and involvement of animals with superior genetics in breeding programs is rarely effective for polygenic traits and pleiotropic genes. The lack of diversity in the germplasm also limits the use of breeding, but some beneficial mutations that did not occur naturally can be introduced manually via genome editing methods. Mutations discovered in other species, such as cattle, can be reproduced in pigs. Traits that were previously pursued for centuries might be achieved by genome editing in a few years. Enormous progress has been made in producing pigs resistant to viruses and in increasing meat productivity and quality. But there are still pressing problems such as lameness and damaging behaviors that probably cannot be solved without genome editing techniques. Their wider application is complicated by the requirement for large amounts of biomaterial, surgical manipulations and cell culture, as well as by the shift towards biomedical research. This review concentrates on the main achievements and challenges in pig agricultural genetics that can be addressed by genome editing.