2017-12-04 14:51:27
Natural evolution is full of surprises. As species adapt to different environments, their genomes change. Many genes are acquired by gene duplication mechanisms and subsequent mutations, which allow the appearance of new versions of genes that can acquire new functions. However, some genes are also lost. These are genes that are no longer useful in the new conditions to which a given species has adapted.
One gene that has been lost in reptiles, birds, and some classes of mammals is the gene that produces uncoupling protein 1, UCP1 (so called by its name in English: uncoupling protein 1). Uncoupling protein 1 serves to uncouple an extremely important metabolic process: the generation of useful chemical energy from the oxidation of food. This chemical energy takes the form of the adenosine triphosphate molecule, better known as ATP.
The function of the UCP1 protein is of particular importance after birth, to combat the cold in newborns. The role of the UCP1 gene and the protein it produces is therefore less important in species that do not live in cold places. In these places, it is even an advantage to lose the UCP1 gene, since this always leads to a loss of efficiency in the generation of chemical energy from food.
The pigs have lost the UCP1 gene, which poses major problems for the pig farming industry, since when the piglets are born, the premises have to be heated because otherwise, due to the cold, mortality is high. On the other hand, the lack of the UCP1 gene makes pigs very prone to store fat; in fact, they have a large amount of white adipose tissue, which is used for this. This characteristic affects meat production, as well as its nutritional quality.
For this reason, a group of Chinese researchers decided to reinstate the UCP1 gene in the pig genome. The scientists created an artificial version of the UCP1 gene and successfully integrated it into the pig genome. The gene was designed so that it would work only in white adipose tissue, and not in other cells or tissues. In this way they achieved the birth of genetically modified pigs and confirmed that these animals enjoyed much improved thermoregulation. More surprisingly, these animals have seen the amount of fat stored in white adipose tissue decrease, without having to alter the amount of physical activity or the amount of calories in their diet.
Referencia: Qiantao Zhenga et al. Reconstitution of UCP1 using CRISPR/Cas9 in the white adipose tissue of pigs decreases fat deposition and improves thermogenic capacity. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1707853114
More information on Jorge Laborda’s Blog: Cold hardy transgenic pigs
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