Review: Progress in producing chimeric ungulate livestock for agricultural applications

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Animal Biotechnology
• Reproductive Biology

Background:

• Recent advancements in deriving and culturing pluripotent stem cells from farm animals enable livestock chimera creation.
• Livestock chimeras can accelerate genetic improvement by transmitting elite genetics and desired genomic alterations to offspring.
• Current methods are successful in model species but not yet documented in livestock.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the derivation of pluripotent stem cells in ungulates.
• To assess progress in producing chimeric livestock for agricultural applications.
• To discuss future prospects and challenges in livestock chimera technology.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of pluripotent stem cell derivation in ungulates.
• Analysis of progress in producing chimeric livestock.
• Examination of insights from model species studies.
• Discussion of regulatory considerations.

Main Results:

• Pluripotent stem cell derivation and culture techniques are advancing in farm animals.
• Production of livestock chimeras with donor-derived germ cells is technically feasible but not yet achieved.
• Model species studies provide valuable insights for ungulate chimera development.

Conclusions:

• Livestock chimeras hold significant potential for agricultural genetic improvement and dissemination of enhanced traits.
• Technical hurdles in livestock chimera production need to be overcome.
• Regulatory frameworks will be crucial for the adoption of this technology in animal agriculture.