The study found that pigs have very similar genetic characteristics to humans.

Release date: 2012-11-21

In George Orwell's classic novel Animal Farm, pigs and humans are almost identical. According to a new study, pigs in the real world are as described in Animal Farm. Through the largest pig genome research to date, scientists have found that pigs have strong adaptability and are easily tempted and domesticated by food, all of which are very similar to humans.
According to a study published in Nature, pigs have the same genetic and protein variants associated with many human diseases as humans, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and obesity. The researchers pointed out that through further research, pig genes can breed new therapies to fight these diseases. Principal investigator, Professor Marty-Grone, of the University of Wageningen, the Netherlands, said: "We have found many genetic variants related to human diseases, further proving that pigs are a very valuable biomedical model."
In addition, the study also revealed how humans domesticated the first pigs and how to raise them to get some of the secrets behind the pork. The ancestors of modern domestic pigs first appeared in Southeast Asia and gradually migrated to Eurasia. Pigs have a keen sense of smell and are able to sniff out tiny odor differences, but their taste is poor. Pigs have fewer bitter taste receptor genes than humans, and their perception of sweetness and flavour is also very different from that of humans.
Alan Archway, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, who participated in the study, said: “Understanding genes that affect pig characteristics helps reveal how they are domesticated and domesticated. The possible reason is that they can eat some humans. It is very important to understand the genetic origin of modern pigs because we need to breed a large number of pigs to meet the growing demand for pork, while also improving the ability of pigs to withstand new and old diseases."
This groundbreaking study, conducted by scientists in Scotland, the United States and the Netherlands, is the most in-depth and comprehensive analysis of domestic and wild pig genomes to date. The study found important significance for pig breeding. Currently, there are more than 1 billion pigs fed annually worldwide. The ancestors of the cattle have been extinct. By contrast, pigs still have distant relatives living in the wild. Researchers say they can use the genes found in wild boar to further optimize domestic pig breeding. Bob-East, one of the authors of the research paper, said: "This research proves that basic genomic research on livestock and its close relatives can benefit us. This research is of great significance to agriculture and helps us understand pigs. Evolution, but also contribute to the development of drugs." (Sina Technology)

Source: Sina Technology