Two cloned piglets born in Hunan province are expected to promote China's pork industry and diabetes treatment research while preserving a 4,000-year-old local breed once pushed to the brink of extinction by foreign competitors.

兩只克隆豬“寶寶”近日在湖南誕生，既保護(hù)了一個(gè)擁有4000年歷史的本土豬種,，也有望推動(dòng)中國(guó)豬肉產(chǎn)業(yè)發(fā)展及糖尿病治療研究,。該豬種曾因外來(lái)豬種競(jìng)爭(zhēng)而瀕臨滅絕。

According to the Xiangtan municipal livestock breeding station, the cloned Shaziling piglets, delivered via a surrogate mother on Jan 24 in Xiangtan county, mark a milestone in China's decadelong push to preserve indigenous livestock breeds using biotechnology.

據(jù)湘潭市家畜育種站介紹，這兩只沙子嶺克隆豬“寶寶”于1月24日在湘潭縣通過(guò)受體母豬誕生,，標(biāo)志著中國(guó)長(zhǎng)達(dá)十年利用生物技術(shù)保護(hù)本土家畜品種的努力取得了里程碑式進(jìn)展,。

Once a staple in Hunan's famed hongshao rou, or braised pork, Shaziling pigs, a breed native to Xiangtan, nearly vanished as industrial foreign breeds dominated Chinese farms in previous years.

沙子嶺豬原產(chǎn)于湘潭,，曾是湖南名菜“紅燒肉”的主要食材。然而,，近年來(lái)隨著外來(lái)工業(yè)化豬種在中國(guó)養(yǎng)殖場(chǎng)占據(jù)主導(dǎo)地位,，沙子嶺豬幾乎銷(xiāo)聲匿跡,。

It is considered a precious genetic resource and was added to China's national animal genetic resource protection list in 2006.

沙子嶺豬種是珍貴的遺傳資源,，曾于2006年被列入中國(guó)國(guó)家畜禽遺傳資源品種名錄,。

To protect the genetic resources of the Shaziling pig, the breeding station initiated the somatic cell cloning experiment with support from a research team led by Yin Yulong, a Chinese Academy of Engineering academician and chief researcher at the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, starting in June last year.

為保護(hù)沙子嶺豬的遺傳資源，湘潭市家畜育種站在去年6月,，依托中國(guó)工程院院士、中國(guó)科學(xué)院亞熱帶農(nóng)業(yè)生態(tài)研究所首席研究員印遇龍及其科研團(tuán)隊(duì),，開(kāi)展了沙子嶺豬體細(xì)胞克隆試驗(yàn),。

Researchers used frozen ear tissue cells from Shaziling pigs to create fibroblast cells, leading to successful embryo construction, cultivation and transplantation. On Jan 24, the surrogate mother pig successfully gave birth.

研究人員利用冷凍保存的沙子嶺豬耳組織成纖維細(xì)胞,，通過(guò)克隆胚胎構(gòu)建,、培養(yǎng)、移植,，“長(zhǎng)大雜”受體母豬于1月24日下午順利分娩。

Tan Hong, head of the breeding station, said that the two piglets display characteristic features of the Shaziling pig, such as a short snout, butterfly ears and cow-like eyes. They are healthy and being cared for by skilled technicians.

湘潭市家畜育種站站長(zhǎng)譚紅介紹，首胎產(chǎn)下的兩只活體克隆“寶寶”,，保存了沙子嶺豬“短嘴筒、蝴蝶耳,、牛眼睛”的典型特征,，各項(xiàng)身體指標(biāo)正常，目前正接受飼養(yǎng)技術(shù)員的精心照料,。

Yin noted that the research achievement goes far beyond agriculture. He emphasized the anatomical, physiological, immunological and genomic similarities between pigs and humans. These similarities make pigs ideal models for researching diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular ailments. Their similar organ size and structure enhance their prospects in xenotransplantation research.

印遇龍指出,，這項(xiàng)研究成果的意義遠(yuǎn)不止于農(nóng)業(yè)領(lǐng)域。他強(qiáng)調(diào),，豬與人類(lèi)在解剖結(jié)構(gòu),、生理學(xué)、免疫學(xué)和基因組學(xué)等方面具有相似性,，因此成為許多疾病模型的理想選擇,，比如被廣泛用于糖尿病、心血管疾病等研究的動(dòng)物模型,。豬的器官大小,、結(jié)構(gòu)與人類(lèi)相似，這使得它們?cè)诋惙N移植研究中有著重要應(yīng)用前景,。

Wu Maisheng, a researcher at the Xiangtan Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, revealed that porcine-human xenotransplantation studies conducted in Hunan since 2005 have found that the Shaziling pig possesses the highest biosafety and is the best donor for such transplants. The success rate for using Shaziling pig islet cells in diabetes treatments reached 95.45 percent.

湘潭市農(nóng)業(yè)農(nóng)村局研究員吳買(mǎi)生透露,，自2005年起，湖南開(kāi)展豬人異種移植研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，沙子嶺豬的生物安全性最高,，確認(rèn)沙子嶺豬是豬人異種移植最佳供體,；用沙子嶺豬胰島細(xì)胞移植治療糖尿病，成功率達(dá)到95.45%,。

Wu said the birth of the cloned Shaziling pig facilitates long-term preservation and live recovery of genetic resources, providing a valuable experimental model for innovative conservation methods for high-quality local pig breeds.

吳買(mǎi)生表示，沙子嶺克隆豬的誕生,，實(shí)現(xiàn)了遺傳資源的長(zhǎng)期保存和活體恢復(fù),，為優(yōu)質(zhì)地方豬種創(chuàng)新資源保護(hù)方式提供了良好的試驗(yàn)示范和引領(lǐng),。

Future research will focus on the cloned pigs' adaptability to environmental conditions, growth and reproductive performance, as well as in-depth studies of the progeny's weight gain, meat quality and genetic traits.

未來(lái)研究團(tuán)隊(duì)將聚焦克隆豬對(duì)環(huán)境的適應(yīng)性,、生長(zhǎng)發(fā)育,、繁殖性能等特性,，圍繞克隆豬后代的肥育性能,、肉質(zhì)特性,、基因特性等開(kāi)展深入研究,。

Yin also said that the Shaziling pig presents extensive application prospects as a food source, disease model and donor for xenotransplantation. It is increasingly significant in modern agriculture, medical research and clinical treatments.

印遇龍還表示,，沙子嶺豬作為食用動(dòng)物,、疾病模型和異種移植供體豬，具有廣闊的應(yīng)用前景,，將在現(xiàn)代農(nóng)業(yè),、醫(yī)學(xué)研究和臨床治療等領(lǐng)域發(fā)揮日益重要的作用。

The research team aims to use cloning technology to replicate superior Shaziling pigs with high feed conversion rates, meat yield and quality.

團(tuán)隊(duì)將利用克隆技術(shù),，對(duì)選育出的飼料轉(zhuǎn)化率高,、產(chǎn)肉量高,、肉質(zhì)好的沙子嶺豬個(gè)體進(jìn)行克隆,。