For 10,000 years pigs and humans have shared a close and complex relationship. From domestication to modern breeding practices, humans have shaped the genomes of domestic pigs. Here we present the assembly and analysis of the genome sequence of a female domestic Duroc pig (Sus scrofa) and a comparison with the genomes of wild and domestic pigs from Europe and Asia. Wild pigs emerged in South East Asia and subsequently spread across Eurasia. Our results reveal a deep phylogenetic split between European and Asian wild boars ~1 million years ago, and a selective sweep analysis indicates selection on genes involved in RNA processing and regulation. Genes associated with immune response and olfaction exhibit fast evolution. Pigs have the largest repertoire of functional olfactory receptor genes, reflecting the importance of smell in this scavenging animal. The pig genome sequence provides an important resource for further improvements of this important livestock species, and our identification of many putative disease-causing variants extends the potential of the pig as a biomedical model.

Developing cost-/energy-efficient separation techniques for purifying ethylene from an ethylene/ethane mixture is highly important but very challenging in the industrial process. Herein, using a bottom-up [8 + 2] construction approach, we rationally designed and synthesized three three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with 8-connected bcu networks, which can selectively remove ethane from an ethylene/ethane mixture with high efficiency. These COF materials, which are fabricated by the condensation reaction of a customer-designed octatopic aldehyde monomer with linear diamino linkers, possess high crystallinity, good structural robustness, and high porosity. Attributed to the well-organized micro-sized pores with a nonpolar/inert pore environment, these COFs display high ethane adsorption capacity and good selectivity over ethylene, making them among the best ethane-selective adsorbents for ethylene purification. Their excellent ethylene/ethane separation performance is validated by dynamic breakthrough experiments with high-purity ethylene (>99.99%) produced through a single adsorption process. The separation performance surpasses all reported C2H6-selective COFs and even some benchmark metal–organic frameworks. This work provides important guidance for the design of new adsorbents for value-added gas purification.

The development of new techniques and materials that can separate ethylene from ethane is highly relevant in modern applications. Although adsorption-based separation techniques using metal−organic frameworks (MOFs) have gained increasing attention, the relatively low stability (especially water resistance) and unscalable synthesis of MOFs severely limit their application in real industrial scenarios. Addressing these challenges, we rationally designed and synthesized two new C 2 H 6 -selective MOF adsorbents (NKMOF-8-Br and -Me) with ultrahigh chemical and thermal stability, including water resistance. Attributed to the nonpolar/ hydrophobic pore environments and appropriate pore apertures, the MOFs can capture C2 hydrocarbon gases at ambient conditions even in high humidity. The single-crystal structures of gas@NKMOF-8 realized the direct visualization of adsorption sites of the gases. Both the single-crystal data and simulated data elucidate the mechanism of selective adsorption. Moreover, the NKMOF-8 possesses high C 2 H 6 adsorption capacity and high selectivity, allowing for efficient C 2 H 6 /C 2 H 4 separation, as verified by experimental breakthrough tests. Most importantly, NKMOF-8-Br and -Me can be scalably synthesized through stirring at room temperature in minutes, which confers them with great potential for industrial application. This work offers new adsorbents that can address major chemical industrial challenges and provides an in-depth understanding of the gas binding sites in a visual manner.

Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) hold great promise for cellular replacement therapies. Despite their contributing to phenotypically distinct cells in multiple tissues, controversy remains regarding whether the phenotype switch results from a true differentiation process. Here, we studied the events occurring during the first 120 h after human MSC transplantation into a large animal model. We demonstrate that MSC, shortly after engrafting different tissues, undergo proliferation and rapidly initiate the differentiative process, changing their phenotype into tissue-specific cells. Thus, the final level of tissue-specific cell contribution is not determined solely by the initial level of engraftment of the MSC within that organ, but rather by the proliferative capability of the ensuing tissue-specific cells into which the MSC rapidly differentiate. Furthermore, we show that true differentiation, and not cell fusion or transfer of mitochondria or membrane-derived vesicles between transplanted and resident cells, is the primary mechanism contributing to the change of phenotype of MSC upon transplantation.

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The direct vector injection approach was used in the fetal sheep model of in utero gene therapy to determine the effects of the recipient gestational age on the efficacy and pattern of liver, lung, and brain transduction and transgene expression. The livers contained foci of transgene-expressing hepatocytes and demonstrated an inverse correlation between recipient age and hepatocyte transduction/transgene expression, with higher levels of gene transfer/expression early in gestation and lower levels late in gestation. Conversely, the percentage of transgene-expressing cells within the lungs of these same animals increased with gestational age, with the majority of transduction occurring in epithelium and fibroblasts. In contrast to the lung and liver, transgene-expressing cells within the brain were extremely limited at all gestational ages tested. Our results demonstrate that numerous nonhematopoietic cells within the liver and lung are transduced following direct injection of murine retroviral vectors into fetal sheep and suggest that the developmental stage of each organ at the time of injection may determine its susceptibility to in utero gene transfer and subsequent levels of transgene expression. Our results suggest that with further vector optimization this approach may be useful for treating diseases that involve the lung and liver early in development.

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tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) from spermatozoa could act as acquired epigenetic factors and contribute to offspring phenotypes. However, the roles of specific tsRNAs in early embryo development remain to be elucidated. Here, using pigs as a research model, we probed the tsRNA dynamics during spermatogenesis and sperm maturation, and demonstrate the delivery of tsRNAs from semen-derived exosomes to spermatozoa. By microinjection of antisense sequences into in vitro fertilized oocytes and subsequent single-cell RNA-seq of embryos, we identified a specific functional tsRNA group (termed here Gln-TTGs) that participate in the early cleavage of porcine preimplantation embryos, probably by regulating cell cycle–associated genes and retrotransposons. We conclude that specific tsRNAs present in mature spermatozoa play significant roles in preimplantation embryo development.