This report describes and evaluates animal biotechnology and its application
in veterinary medicine and pharmaceuticals as well as improvement in food
production. Knowledge of animal genetics is important in the application of
biotechnology to manage genetic disorders and improve animal breeding.
Genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics are also being applied to animal
biotechnology.
Transgenic technologies are used for improving milk production and the meat in
farm animals as well as for creating models of human diseases. Transgenic
animals are used for the production of proteins for human medical use.
Biotechnology is applied to facilitate xenotransplantation from animals to
humans. Genetic engineering is done in farm animals and nuclear transfer
technology has become an important and preferred method for cloning
animals.There is discussion of in vitro meat production by culture
Biotechnology has potential applications in the management of several animal
diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, classical swine fever, avian flu and
bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The most important biotechnology-based
products consist of vaccines, particularly genetically engineered or DNA
vaccines. Gene therapy for diseases of pet animals is a fast developing area
because many of the technologies used in clinical trials humans were developed
in animals and many of the diseases of cats and dogs are similar to those in
humans.RNA interference technology is now being applied for research in
veterinary medicine
Molecular diagnosis is assuming an important place in veterinary practice.
Polymerase chain reaction and its modifications are considered to be
important. Fluorescent in situ hybridization and enzyme-linked immunosorbent
assays are also widely used. Newer biochip-based technologies and biosensors
are also finding their way in veterinary diagnostics.
Biotechnology products are approved by the Center for Veterinary Medicine of
the FDA. Regulatory issues relevant to animal biotechnology are described.
Approximately 111 companies have been identified to be involved in animal
biotechnology and are profiled in the report. These are a mix of animal
healthcare companies and biotechnology companies. Top companies in this area
are identified and ranked. Information is given about the research activities
of 11 veterinary and livestock research institutes. Important 108
collaborations in this area are shown.
Share of biotechnology-based products and services in 2012 is analyzed and the
market is projected to 2022.
The text is supplemented with 34 tables and 5 figures.Selected 250 references
from the literature are appended.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
0. Executive Summary 12
1. Introduction to Animal Biotechnology 14
Introduction 14
Historical evolution of animal biotechnology 14
Basics of biotechnology 15
DNA 15
RNA 15
Genes 16
Single nucleotide polymorphisms 16
Copy number variations in the genome 16
DNA sequences 17
Gene expression 17
Gene regulation 18
Proteins 18
Functions of proteins 18
Recombinant proteins 19
Monoclonal antibodies 20
Animal genetics 20
Molecular genetics 20
Twinning in cattle 21
Pig genetics 21
Genetic studies in dogs 21
Animal genomics 21
The mouse genome 21
The dog genome 22
Sequencing of the dog genome 22
Comparison of genomes of healthy and diseased dogs 24
Analysis of DNA copy number variation 24
The cat genome 25
Marsupial genomes 25
Genomes of non-human primates 25
Chimpanzee genome 25
Genome of the rhesus macaque 26
Genome of gorilla 26
Livestock genomics 27
Bovine genome 28
Bovine SNP map 28
Bovine stomach microbiome genes 29
Camel genome 30
Goat genome 30
Horse genome 31
Pig genome 31
Sheep genome 33
Chicken genome 33
Turkey genome 34
Salmon genome 35
Priority genome list of the National Human Genome Research Institute
35
Animal proteomics 36
Applications of proteomics in animals 36
Caseins in goat milk 37
Lactic acid bacteria 37
Applications of proteomics in animal healthcare 37
Antigenomics 37
Bioinformatics 38
Nanobiotechnology and animal health 39
Biomarkers and animal health 39
Recombinant protein manufacture 40
Animal biotechnology in relation to other technologies 40
2. Application of Biotechnology in Animals 42
Introduction 42
Applications of animal genomics 42
Bovine ankyrin 1 gene and beef tenderness 42
Chicken breeding based on genomics 43
Genomics of disease resistance 43
Genome wide associations and milk production in cows 43
Low cost genotyping for genetic improvement in dairy cattle 44
SNPs and longevity in dairy cattle 44
Share genomic data to improve cattle breeding programs 44
Statistical genomics to improve breeding 44
Genetic engineering 45
Livestock improvement by genetic engineering 45
Disease control by genetic engineering 45
Limitations and precautions for genetic engineering 45
Transgenic animal technology 46
Cloning animals 47
Nuclear transfer technology 47
Nuclear bisection for cloning 49
Zona-free cloning method 49
Abnormalities in cloned animals 50
Cloning from embyonic cells 51
Cloning of rabbits 51
Cloning the rat 52
Cloning the horse 52
Cloning the cow 52
Cloning the dog 53
Cloning in primates 53
Retrovector-mediated production of transgenic animals 53
Episomal vector-mediated gene delivery 54
Sperm-mediated gene transfer 54
Lentiviral transduction of male germ-line stem cells 55
Lentiviral transgenesis 56
Transgenic pharmaceuticals 56
Proteins from the milk of transgenic animals 56
Advantages of milk as source of transgenic proteins 57
Therapeutic proteins from rabbit milk 58
Recombinant human antibodies from cows 59
Therapeutic proteins from goat milk 59
Chicken transgenesis for the production of biopharmaceuticals 60
Concluding remarks about production of recombinant proteins in animals
60
Companies involved in production of transgenic pharmaceuticals 60
Transgenic food products 61
Milking genetically modified cows 61
Transgenic fish 61
Cloned animals as sources of milk and meat 62
Animal feeds from transgenic plants 62
Transgenic modification of plants to increase nutritional value of animal
feeds 63
Transgenic disease models 63
Technologies to create transgenic disease models 63
Gene manipulation techniques 63
Embryonic stem cells for gene targeting 64
Homologous recombination 64
Animal models of human diseases 65
Transgenic models for studying human drug metabolism and toxicity 65
The Human Genome Project and the role of transgenics 66
Genomic and proteomic analyses of transgenic animal models 66
Concern about health and welfare of transgenic animals 67
Safety of transgenic technology 67
Concluding remarks about use of transgenic animals 68
RNA interference technology 68
RNAi versus antisense 68
Applications of RNAi in animal biotechnology 68
Xenotransplantation 69
Pigs for xenotransplantation 69
Genetically engineered pigs for transplants 70
Risks of xenotransplantation 70
World Health Organization and xenotransplantation 71
Ethical aspects of animal biotechnology 71
3. A Biotechnology Perspective of Animals Diseases 74
Introduction 74
Infections in animals 74
Viral infections 75
Avian influenza 75
Animal surveillance of influenza 77
Animal biotechnology implications of H1N1 influenza 78
Animal corona viruses and human SARS 79
Avian coronavirus 79
Bluetongue virus 80
Canine parvovirus 80
Classical swine fever 80
Developing new treatments against FMD 80
Equine infectious anemia 81
Foot-and-mouth disease 82
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus 83
Rabies 84
Rinderpest 84
Schmallenberg virus 84
Bacterial infections 85
Bovine tuberculosis 85
Mycoplasmal pneumonia 86
Fungal infections 86
Protozoal infections 86
Coccidiosis 86
Neosporosis 87
Toxoplasmosis 87
Trypanosomiasis 87
Nematodes 88
Infections that cross the species barrier 88
Complications of bacterial infections and antibiotic use in animals
88
