>http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091103/sc_nm/us_genes_pig_3

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An international team of researchers said
>Monday it had mapped the DNA of a domestic pig, work they say could
>help lead to better breeding techniques as well as improve vaccines
>against diseases such as swine flu.

>They plan to look for genes useful in pork production and immunity in
>pigs, which are similar in size to humans. And, like humans, they
>catch influenza very easily.

>"Understanding the swine genome will lead to health advancements in
>the swine population and accelerate the development of vaccinations
>for pigs," said Roger Beachy, Director of the U.S. Department of
>Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

>"This new insight into the genetic makeup of the swine population can
>help reduce disease and enable medical advancements in both pigs and
>humans," Beachy said in a statement.

>"The pig is a unique animal that is important for food and that is
>used as an animal model for human disease," added Larry Schook of the
>University of Illinois in Champaign, who helped direct the project.

>"And because the native wild animals are still in existence, it is a
>really exciting animal to look at to learn about the genomic effects
>of domestication."

>The pandemic H1N1 swine flu virus originated in pigs and evidence
>suggests it can be passed from humans to pigs and back again. Pigs are
>also susceptible to many other strains of influenza.