Next Gen Porcine Genetics and Genomics: Implications for Health

Dear Colleagues,

This Genes proposal provides futuristic perspectives with respect to emerging tools and techniques related to porcine genetics and genomics, with an emphasis on biomedical applications and implications for health. The pig (Sus scrofa) was domesticated ∼10,000 years ago in multiple locations across Eurasia and since then has become an invaluable agricultural species. In addition, its use in biomedical research and medical training is well established and anticipated to increase with the emergence of gene-editing technologies for development of new human disease models. The recent completion of an improved porcine reference genome (Sscrofa11.1) provides an opportunity for the porcine genetics and genomics community to improve its understanding of the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying agriculturally and biomedically relevant phenotypes. This high-quality annotated reference genome sequence has already proven to be a critical framework for comparing individual genomes. Furthermore, the genome sequence also provides a valuable resource enabling effective uses of pigs, both in agricultural production and biomedical research. This Special Issue will focus on the continued development of tools, methodologies, and databases required to advance our knowledge of porcine genetics and genomics. Contributions to this call will expand our knowledge of the genomic and epigenomic mechanisms underlying agricultural and biomedically relevant phenotypes. The scope of topics includes development of novel porcine genomic tools, integration of multi-omics analyses, utilization of machine learning approaches, elucidation of molecular mechanisms underlying relevant phenotypes, and improving health for both pigs and humans. Comparative genomic analysis with humans and other relevant agricultural and biomedical species will also be covered, as will the development of genetically edited pigs for agricultural and biomedical purposes.

Dr. Lawrence Schook
Dr. Kyle Schachtschneider
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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