Porcine fetal fibroblast cell lines (PF 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161) derived from 2-14 clones and an adult fibroblast cell line from 2-14 (sow that contributed the DNA for sequencing the porcine genome) are available.
Parties interested in obtaining one of the above cell lines should provide a brief description of the intended use and a mailing address to:
Eric Payne
Technology Manager
The Office of Technology Management
ecpayne@ad.uiuc.edu
(217) 265-6212
Animal agriculture was a part of the Land-Grant University mission from its inception. The forty-five members of the Department of Animal Sciences professorial faculty engage in a wide range of teaching, research, and outreach activities. Their interests include most of the major disciplines of modern animal biology. Some do fundamental, discovery research while others address very practical problems of current interest to animal producers and pet owners.
Evolution Highway was a collaborative project to provide a visual means for simultaneously comparing mammalian genomes of humans, horses, cats, dogs, pigs, cattle, rats, and mice. The tool removes the burden of manually aligning these maps and allows cognitive skills to be used on something more valuable than preparation and transformation of data. Primary Researcher Dr. Harris A. Lewin explains that with Evolution Highway one is able to look " . . . at the whole genome at once--multiple chromosomes across multiple species. The insights wouldn't have come so quickly if we couldn't throw the data at this tool from NCSA."
The Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was established in 2003 to advance life science research and stimulate bio-economic development in the state of Illinois. Construction of the $75 million, 186,000 square foot state-of-the-art IGB facility began in April 2004. When complete in mid-2006, the facility will house up to 400 researchers in three broad Program Areas:
Systems Biology
Cellular and Metabolic Engineering
Genome Technology
The Swine Genome Sequencing Consortium (SGSC) was formed in September 2003 by academic, government and industry representatives to provide international coordination for sequencing the pig genome. The SGSC's mission is to advance biomedical research for animal production and health by the development of DNA- based tools and products resulting from the sequencing of the swine genome.
Animal Biotechnology covers the identification and manipulation of genes and their products, stressing applications in domesticated animals. The journal publishes full-length articles and short research communications, as well as appropriate reviews. It also provides a forum for regulatory or scientific issues related to cell and molecular biology, immunogenetics, transgenic animals, and microbiology.
Swine are the optimal model species for investigation of a large number of human diseases and have made valuable contributions to almost every field of human medicine. Swine share anatomic and physiologic characteristics with humans that make them ideal models for research. In addition, the anatomy and physiology make pig organs likely candidates for xenotransplantation.
The National Swine Resource and Research Center (NSRRC) was established in 2003 to develop the infrastructure to ensure that biomedical investigators across a variety of disciplines have access to critically needed swine models of human health and disease. The NSRRC will also serve as a central resource for reagents, creation of new genetically modified swine, and information and training related to use of swine models in biomedical research.
The Biotechnology Center: through our core laboratories in genomics and proteomics provides a state of the art research infrastructure to investigators both on and off campus. Our research facilities consist of the Proteomics Center and the W. M. Keck Center for Comparative and Functional Genomics. The Proteomics Center is composed of four units involved in protein and cell characterization: Flow Cytometry Facility, Immunological Resource Center, Carver Metabolomics Center, and Protein Sciences Facility. The W.M. Keck Center is subdivided into three units by their research focus: High-Throughput Sequencing and Genotyping, Functional Genomics, and Bioinformatics. We provide genomic and proteomic research services to over 221 principal investigators on campus representing 6 colleges and 38 departments as well as numerous off-campus projects. In addition, our Placement Office assists graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in career placement.
The conference goals are to identify areas of study or methodologies that will enhance the utility of pigs as biomedical models. In particular, the conference will focus on identifying appropriate human diseases where traditional rodent models have not proven relevant, where the historical use of swine in this regard may be enhanced, or where no useful models exist today and for which swine may be considered. The conference is organized to identify resource needs and areas in which new approaches or methodologies are required. The conference is structured to stimulate interactions between researchers working within swine and human genomics. To date, these are separate research communities and the conference will provide a forum for introductions and to showcase the utility of the pig as an invaluable model. The increasing relevance of existing pig models for human diseases and the emerging ability to capture genomic information to create novel models has stimulated the organization of this conference. The conference has been organized to permit active discussion and to identify the needs and opportunities for continued exploitation of this animal model.
The Sanger Institute is a genome research institute primarily funded by the Wellcome Trust. Our purpose is to further the knowledge of genomes, particularly through large scale sequencing and analysis.
The genome of the pig (Sus scrofa) comprises 18 autosomes, with X and Y sex chromosomes. The genome size is similar to that of human and is estimated at 2.7Gb. There is extensive conserved homology with the human genome. The pig is a member of the artiodactyls, (cloven-hoofed mammal), which are an evolutionary clade distinct from the primates and rodents. It an important model for human health particularly for understanding complex traits such as obesity and cariovascular disease.
A physical map of the porcine genome has been generated by an international collaboration of 4 laboratories, with database curation and analysis taking place at the WTSI. We have used both high throughput fingerprinting and BAC end sequencing to provide the template for an integrated physical map of the whole pig genome.
© 2008 The Board of Trustees at the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences