A RAPID METHOD FOR DETECTION OF THE COPY NUMBER OF PORCINE ENDOGENOUS RETROVIRUS IN SWINE

ABSTRACT Pig‐to‐human xenotransplantation is associated with the risk of porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) transmission. It was assumed that copy number of PERV could increase during inbreeding. To detect the copy number of PERV of Banna minipig inbred line (BMI) and three other breeds of Chinese pigs, real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐QPCR, SYBR Green I ) was performed in this study. The results demonstrated that BMI pigs contained higher copy numbers of PERV gag, pol and envB genes than other tested domestic pigs, which greatly suggested that copy numbers had increased during inbreeding. Domestic pigs outbreeding and from different regions had similar copy numbers of PERV in genome. Thus, selective outbreeding of pigs of remote origin might be a feasible means to reduce PERV load in organ donors. RT‐QPCR (SYBR Green I) offered a rapid and accurate method for the detection of the copy number of most relevant retroviruses and was especially suitable for high‐throughput screen.