Naturally Green Pigs

i just dont know what to say... yea haw... green pork...

as if it wasnt bad enough already...

seriously though.... fascinating stuff.

-MT
 
Yeah it's possible, but the ethicists probably wouldn't let you w/o raising all of hell.

I don't quite see why this would be done though.
 
If you flouresced quite brightly it would let you read at night during power failures. This alone could justify the multi-billion pound investment necessary and totally overcome any ethical objections.

[Where is April the First when you need it?]
 
I wish I was blue.

Wouldn't it be good though if everyone was assigned random colors? there wouldn't be any more prejudice :p
 
Euler is my Hero said:
This might sound stupid, but just imagine the ramifications...
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can you imagine green glow in the dark genitals
or orange butts

ah yes, bio engineering.
it can be heaven or hell
 
Wow, I’ve seen this subject discussed on three different science forums and not one person in any of them seems to have the slightest idea what this fluorescent pig is all about.

I'll give a clue................. 'transplantation'.<P>
 
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i never read the article

the japanese used a gene from that phosphoresent stuff that gets
churned up by ships at sea.

i guess you could say the japanese transplanted a gene
is that what you are talking about?
 
Excellent--half way to Dr. Suesse's green eggs and ham--now all we need is someone to invent green chickens. :p :D
 
leopold99 said:
is that what you are talking about?
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What I am talking about is that no one has mentioned the real reason for the generation of a GFP transgenic pig line.

Pigs are the most (potentially) suitable source of organs for transplantation into humans (aside from other humans). Their internal organs are the right size and are physiological extremely similar. Pigs can be farmed in large numbers. The major problem is that porcine cells carry a cell-surface glycoprotein that, by chance, closely resembles a bacterial cell-surface glycoprotein. This leads to a massive and lethal immune response when pig organs are transplanted into mammals. Generation of transgenic pigs that lack this glycoprotein is underway – I recall at least one report of such a line of pigs having been made.

If these problems with porcine xenotransplantation can be overcome, there is the potential to eliminate organ transplant waiting lists. People will no longer die while they wait for replacement organs. Thus, it’s not surprising that a lot of effort is being placed into porcine transplant experiments! The generation of a GFP pig line will enhance the ability of scientists to experiment with cell transplantation from pigs to mammals because the transplanted pig cells have an easy-to-visualize lineage tracer – they glow green. The behavior of the transplanted cells (and all their progeny) in the recipient (which, at first, will be immuno-compromised mice) can be easily determined in tissue sections and organ culture.<P>
 
Hercules Rockefeller said:
The behavior of the transplanted cells (and all their progeny) in the recipient (which, at first, will be immuno-compromised mice) can be easily determined in tissue sections and organ culture.<P>
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that makes sense
i do suppose when this reseach is over and it is ready for human use
regular pig organs would be used
i wonder if they used the same gene the japanese used.
 
leopold99 said:
that makes sense
i do suppose when this reseach is over and it is ready for human use
regular pig organs would be used
i wonder if they used the same gene the japanese used.
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No, regular pigs will never be used for organ/tissue transplantations. Read Hercules post. They are not making the 'glycoprotein protein lacking' pig for just testing. They need to have it for transplants to be possible.

And if these pigs would also have fluorescent green cells it would be easier to determine what happens with the donor cells. That speeds up the research. Because it is very easy to see GFP (green fluorescent protein). Just switch on the fluorescent microscope. There is no need to do any staining. You can even go a step further in research. We have for instance mice that express GFP only in cells that express a specific gene. Moreover you can activate the GFP expression by adding a certain chemical at a specific time point in development. In that way you can label specific cells from a specific timepoint onwards. And then you can use these mice to stop another gene from expressing where this original gene is expressed.
 
spuriousmonkey said:
No, regular pigs will never be used for organ/tissue transplantations. Read Hercules post. They are not making the 'glycoprotein protein lacking' pig for just testing. They need to have it for transplants to be possible.
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why would they need the gene for transplant?
i can understand the research bit, the ability to track what happens

regular pigs can not be used after the process has been perfected?
 
No, the tissue of regular pigs will always be rejected by our body. Hence they are trying to change the nature of pig tissue to make it more compatible with ours. By taking away the glycoprotein that our bodies respond to this massive immune-response.
 
spuriousmonkey said:
No, the tissue of regular pigs will always be rejected by our body.
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well, that is something else i didn't know.
i'm gonna be an expert by the time i leave this board
 
Xylene said:
Excellent--half way to Dr. Suesse's green eggs and ham--now all we need is someone to invent green chickens. :p :D
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When the pigs start laying eggs, run.
 
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