A pilot study of large-scale production of mutant pigs by ENU mutagenesis.

N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis is a powerful tool to efficiently generate large scale of mutants and discover genes with novel functions at the whole-genome level in C. elegans, flies, zebrafish and mice, but has never been tried in large model animals. In the current study, we reported a successful systematic three-generation ENU mutagenesis screening in pigs with the establishment of Chinese Swine Mutagenesis Consortium. A total of 6,770 G1 and 6,800 G3 pigs were screened, 36 dominant and 91 recessive novel pig families with various phenotypes were established. The causative mutations in 10 mutant families were further mapped. As examples, the mutation of SOX10 (R109W) in pig causes inner ear malfunctions and mimics human Mondini dysplasia, and up-regulated expression of FBXO32 is associated with congenital splay legs. This study demonstrates the feasibility of artificial random mutagenesis in pigs and opens an avenue for generating a reservoir of mutants for agriculture production and biomedicine research.