Ectopic Expression of FGF5s Induces Wool Growth in Chinese Merino Sheep

    September 2017 in “ Gene ”
    Wenrong Li, Shikun He, Chenxi Liu, Xuemei Zhang, Liqin Wang, Jianghai Lin, Lei Chen, Bin Han, Jianqiang Huang, Mingjun Liu
    TLDR Overexpression of FGF5s makes Chinese Merino sheep grow longer and heavier wool.
    Researchers generated transgenic Chinese Merino sheep with ectopic expression of FGF5s by injecting recombinant lentivirus into zygotes. Out of 20 transgenic sheep, 12 survived after birth. The study found that these transgenic sheep had significantly longer wool (9.17 cm) and greater fleece weight (3.22 kg) compared to non-transgenic controls (7.58 cm and 2.17 kg, respectively). The results suggested that overexpression of FGF5s could stimulate wool growth, increasing both wool length and weight, indicating potential for improving wool productivity in the future.
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