The past,present and future of bovine pluripotent stem cells: a brief overview

Although the pursuit of bovine embryonic stem cells started more than 26 years ago for the purpose of gene-targeting, true pluripotent stem cells in this economically important species are still elusive. With the rapid advances in genome-editing and cloning using homologously recombined somatic cells, the need for pluripotent stem cells for precise genetic modification in any species became questionable. With the pig being the better model for human regenerative biology, the identification of the commonalities and uniqueness of the pluripotency circuitry across mammalian species may be the main objective for studying pluripotent stem cells in the bovine.