Iowa State Studies Pig Blood Cells for Disease Resilience

Researchers are analyzing pig blood cells to improve how animals are selected for resistance to disease.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Life Sciences

Glass sample vials in a metal rack on a laboratory bench beside a brass microscope, with farmland visible through a window. — Iowa State University researchers are analyzing pig blood cells in a $650,000 USDA-funded study aimed at improving selection for disease resilience in swine. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Iowa State University scientists have launched a study analyzing pigs' blood cells to improve selection for disease resilience. The work is funded by a $650,000 grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Why it matters

Disease resilience is difficult to measure and predict, and progress in improving it has been limited. A practical tool could help improve pig health and inform animal genetic selection across Iowa's large swine industry.

The study draws on blood data from over 1,800 pigs followed from weaning at about five weeks of age to market, with a $650,000 NIFA grant funding the work. It remains unresolved whether the final phase will produce a practical method for measuring predictive patterns in industry populations.

The players

Christopher Tuggle

Christopher Tuggle is a professor of animal science at Iowa State University and the lead investigator on the study.

Jack Dekkers

Jack Dekkers is a distinguished professor of animal science at Iowa State University and a co-investigator on the study.

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture is the federal agency that awarded the $650,000 grant funding the study.

The details

Researchers will collect blood samples from young pigs under healthy and infected conditions that mimic farm conditions. Using single-cell analysis, they will measure gene expression in each cell rather than averaging across cells.

November 3, 2026: Iowa State study on pig blood cells announced

Life Sciences Context

The study extends federal swine disease research conducted at the USDA-ARS National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa, by applying single-cell gene expression methods to disease resilience. Collaboration with the Beltsville, Maryland, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory places the work within a multi-site USDA effort.

If the final phase produces a practical measurement tool, it could help farmers and breeders select pigs better able to resist disease. Basic immunological data from the study will be made publicly available.

The takeaway

Breeding for disease resilience may become more precise as blood-based measurements improve. Readers tracking animal health can watch for the publicly released immunological data from this Iowa State study.