Search

Copyright of Shipin Kexue/ Food Science is the property of Food Science Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: The recent emergence of PRRSV strains NADC30 and NADC34, along with their recombination with HP-PRRSV-like strains, has added complexity to PRRS control strategies on swine farms. Given the high variability and recombination potential of PRRSV, continuous monitoring of the virus's clinical epidemiology is essential for effective prevention and control. Methods: This study isolated a PRRSV variant, designated SDVD-NMG2023, from approximately 65-day-old pigs, showing a mortality rate of around 15% within the herd. The whole-genome, ORF5, and NSP2 sequences of the SDVD-NMG2023 isolate were aligned with 42 reference strains using MEGA software. Recombination analysis was performed using SimPlot software and RDP software. Pathogenicity analysis of SDVD-NMG2023 was conducted in four-week-old SPF Yorkshire piglets. Results: Phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary analyses revealed a natural recombination event involving the NADC30, NADC34, and JXA1 strains. Piglets infected with SDVD-NMG2023 exhibited mild clinical symptoms, including elevated rectal temperatures in two out of five piglets, as well as cough, mild anorexia, weight stunting, interstitial pneumonia, and thymic atrophy in all cases. Discussion: The findings indicate that the novel crossbred PRRSV isolate SDVD-NMG2023, derived from three prevalent clinical strains, may induce more unusual clinical presentations compared to those associated with HP-PRRS, albeit still impacting the health of the herd by causing immunosuppression. This study provides critical insights into the emergence of multi-strain PRRSV recombination, particularly between NADC30/34-like and HP-PRRSV-like strains, supporting a more strategic and comprehensive approach to PRRS prevention and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study analyzed the aqueous leaf extracts of Moringa oleifera and Musa sps. for phytochemical components, including flavonoids, sterols, saponins, tannins, and glycosides. The LC–MS analysis revealed gingerol, vicenin-2, caffeic acid, quercetin, and other compounds in the extracts. The synthesized MO- and MS- CuNPs (copper nanoparticles) exhibited plasmon resonance at 320 and 480 nm respectively, and Cu(II)-O stretching vibrations, manifested by their Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectra. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that MO-/MS-CuNPs experienced a total weight loss of 80.2% and 68% respectively. Further, the EDS analysis revealed that MO-CuNPs have a copper content of 20%, while MS-CuNPs is 32%. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the annealed MO and MS-CuNPs indicate the presence of both the cubic phase of copper (Cu) and the monoclinic tenorite phase of copper oxide (CuO). The percent DPPH scavenging activity of MO- and MS-CuNPs is 34.4 and 28.8, and by KMnO4 is 63.8 and 47.3% respectively. The behavior of CuNPs exhibited an asymmetrical response, with greater inhibition of Gram-negative bacteria compared to Gram-positive bacteria. CuNPs and medicinal plant-derived carbon dots were integrated into nanofibrous electrospun biopolymer scaffolds for wound care, demonstrating 100% wound healing in Yorkshire pigs full thickness excision wounds after 34 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Teat number is one of the most important indicators to evaluate the lactation performance of sows, and increasing the teat number has become an important method to improve the economic efficiency of farms. Therefore, it is particularly important to deeply analyze the genetic mechanism of teat number traits in pigs. In this study, we detected Single Nucleotide Ploymorphism (SNP), Insertion-Deletion (InDel) and Structural variant (SV) by high-coverage whole-genome resequencing data, and selected teat number at birth and functional teat number as two types of teat number traits for genome-wide association study (GWAS) to reveal candidate genes associated with pig teat number traits. Results: In this study, we used whole genome resequencing data from 560 Yorkshire sows to detect SNPs, InDels and SVs, and performed GWAS for the traits of born teat number and functional teat number, and detected a total of 85 significant variants and screened 214 candidate genes, including HEG1, XYLT1, SULF1, MUC13, VRTN, RAP1A and NPVF. Among them, HEG1 and XYLT1 were the new candidate genes in this study. The co-screening and population validation of multiple traits suggested that HEG1 may have a critical effect on the born teat number. Conclusion: Our study shows that more candidate genes associated with pig teat number traits can be identified by GWAS with different variant types. Through large population validation, we found that HEG1 may be a new key candidate gene affecting pig teat number traits. In conclusion, the results of this study provide new information for exploring the genetic mechanisms affecting pig teat number traits and genetic improvement of pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Fructus Aurantii (FA) is rich in flavonoids, which can effectively promote digestion and improve intestinal health, possessing a strong potential to serve as an alternative to antibiotics. In this experiment, the addition of Fructus Aurantii extract increased the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria in feces, stimulated the secretion of gastrointestinal hormones, improved digestion ability and growth performance. This study investigated the effects of Fructus Aurantii extract (FAE) on growth performance, nutrient apparent digestibility, serum parameters, fecal microbial composition, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in finishing pigs. In total, 75 Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire pigs (equally divided by sex), with an initial body weight of 79.49 ± 4.27 kg, were randomly assigned to three treatment groups. The pigs were fed either a basic diet (CON) or a basal diet supplemented with 500 mg/kg of FAE (FAE500) and 1000 mg/kg of FAE (FAE1000). The FAE1000 group exhibited a significantly higher final body weight (FBW) (p < 0.05), and the average daily feed intake (ADFI) showed an increasing tendency in the FAE500 and FAE1000 groups (p = 0.056) compared to the CON group. Additionally, the inclusion of FAE resulted in the significantly higher apparent digestibility of crude ash (Ash), gross energy (GE), and crude protein (CP) (p < 0.05), with a tendency to the increased digestibility of dry matter (DM) (p = 0.053). Dietary FAE supplementation led to elevated serum levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and decreased levels of serum L-lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), along with a tendency to increase serum glucose (GLU) levels (p = 0.084). The FAE500 group demonstrated higher serum concentrations of motilin (MTL) and gastrin (GAS) (p < 0.05), and a tendency for reduced serum glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) level (p = 0.055) compared to the CON group. Furthermore, alpha diversity analysis revealed that the FAE500 group significantly increased the Chao 1 and Observed_species indexes (p < 0.05). Similarly, beta diversity analysis indicated that FAE feeding altered the fecal microbial structure (p = 0.083). Notably, compared with the control group, CF231, Pediococcus, and Mogibacterium displayed higher relative abundance in the feces of the FAE500 group, whereas Tenericutes showed a reduction in relative abundance (p < 0.05). Additionally, the relative abundance of Tenericute was negatively correlated with the digestibility of DM, GE, Ash, and CP (p < 0.05). Serum MTL and GAS levels correlated positively with the Coprococcus, Dorea, Pediococcus, and Mogibacterium relative abundances (p < 0.05). Collectively, dietary FAE supplementation could enhance growth performance by boosting beneficial bacteria in feces, stimulating gastrointestinal hormone secretion, and improving nutrient digestibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Long-term domestication in high-altitude environments has led to unique changes in the gut microbiota of Tibetan Pigs. This study aims to investigate specific alterations in the intestinal flora of Tibetan Pigs compared to Yorkshire pigs. Methods: We employed 16S rRNA and metagenomic sequencing technologies for comprehensive analysis of the gut microbiota. The data collected allowed us to assess microbial community structures and functional capabilities. Results: Our analysis revealed that Tibetan Pigs raised under a "free-range + supplementary feeding" model exhibited increased abundance of microbial communities associated with short-chain fatty acid synthesis and the digestion of cellulose and hemicellulose. Notably, the characteristic bacterium Rhodococcus , commonly found in high-altitude environments, was enriched in the gut microbiota of Tibetan Pigs, facilitating the efficient utilization of natural compounds and degradation of toxic substances. Additionally, the increased abundance of probiotics in these pigs enhances their immunity, which may involve mechanisms such as disrupting the structure of pathogenic bacteria and detoxifying harmful metabolites. Discussion: These findings underscore the advantages of Tibetan Pigs over common commercial breeds, highlighting their unique gut microbiota adaptations. Furthermore, they open new avenues for screening potential probiotics and developing genetic breeding strategies for improved livestock varieties. Conclusion: Understanding the distinct gut microbiota of Tibetan Pigs provides valuable insights into their health benefits and resilience, contributing to future research on breed improvement and microbiome applications in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adeno-associated virus-based gene therapy is a promising avenue in heart failure treatment, but has shown limited cardiac virus uptake in humans, requiring new approaches for clinical translation. Using a Yorkshire swine ischemic heart failure model, we demonstrate significant improvement in gene uptake with temporary coronary occlusions assisted by mechanical circulatory support. We first show that mechanical support during coronary artery occlusions prevents hemodynamic deterioration (n = 5 female). Subsequent experiments show that coronary artery occlusions during gene delivery improve gene transduction, while adding coronary sinus occlusion (Stop-flow) further improves gene expression up to >1 million-fold relative to conventional intracoronary infusion. Complete survival during and after delivery (n = 10 female, n = 10 male) further indicates safety of the approach. Improved cardiac gene expression correlates with virus uptake without an increase in extra-cardiac expression. Stop-flow delivery of virus-sized gold nanoparticles exhibits enhanced endothelial adherence and uptake, suggesting a mechanism independent of virus biology. Together, utilizing mechanical support for cardiac gene delivery offers a clinically-applicable strategy for heart failure-targeted therapies. Efficient AAV gene delivery to the heart remains a challenge and hinders clinical translation. Here, coronary Stop-flow delivery with mechanical circulatory support dramatically improved gene expression while securing safety in a swine heart failure model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) are gaining attention in the context of pork production due to their role in regulating fat deposition, a crucial economic trait. This study focused on profiling LncRNAs in back fat deposition in Saba and Yorkshire pigs, which exhibit significant differences in fat accumulation. Using transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics, we identified 704 differentially expressed mRNAs and 50 LncRNAs. We employed cis-regulatory analysis to explore the function of LncRNAs. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment revealed pathways and enzyme activity-related terms, indicating that LncRNAs may modulate gene expression to influence biological processes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed enrichment in fat deposition pathways, underscoring the critical role of LncRNAs in this process. Further analysis and construction of LncRNA-mRNA interaction networks revealed 5 potential regulatory networks. Combining the data of differentially expressed LncRNAs and mRNAs, we identified candidate LncRNAs that regulate the expression of ACACA and FASN, which are functionally important genes affecting fat deposition. In summary, this study provides a theoretical foundation and valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying LncRNA-mediated regulation of fat deposition in pigs. These findings are essential for advancing our understanding of porcine fat deposition and enhancing pork production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and run of homozygosity (ROH) analyses based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data were powerful tools for uncovering genetic factors associated with reproductive performance efficiency in various livestock breeds. The effectiveness of these studies may differ based on breed-specific characteristics, population genetics, and targeted production traits. In the present study, comparative analyses of the genetic profiles of pigs that exhibit diverse reproductive performance were conducted. This empowered us to identify genomic regions associated with the number of piglets born alive (NBA) and the total number of piglets born (TNB). The present finding greatly enhance its contributions to revisit breeding strategies in pigs by identifying significant genetic markers associated with reproductive performance traits. Background: Reproductive performance is critical in the pig industry, and improved sow performance could lead to increased economic benefits. GWAS and ROH analyses based on SNP array data were conducted to identify the breed-specific genetic architecture underlying the variation in NBA and TNB. Methods: A total of 7488 breeding pigs with phenotypic data from 1586 Duroc, 2256 Landrace, and 3646 Yorkshire breeds, along with 76,756 SNP markers from Korean grand-grand-parent (GGP) breeding farms, were used. Results: In the Duroc breeds, SNPs on SSC 9 and 17 were found to be associated with the SIDT2 and TGM2 genes, respectively. In the Landrace breed, PPP1R9A, LMTK2, and GTF2H3 on SSCs 9, 3, and 14, respectively, were associated with both TNB and NBA. With the Yorkshire breed genome, GRID1, DLGAP2, ZZEF1, PARG, RNF17, and NDUFAF5 in SSCs 14, 15, 12, 14, 11, and 17, respectively, were associated with NBA and TNB traits. These genes have distinct functions, ranging from synaptic transmission and cytoskeletal organization to DNA repair and cellular energy production. In the Duroc breed, six genes identified in the ROH islands were associated with various biological pathways, molecular functions, and cellular components. NT5DC1 was associated with metaphyseal chondrodysplasia, CRTAC1 with ion binding, CFAP43 with spermatogenic failure, CASC3 with intracellular mRNA localization, ERC2 with cellular component organization, and FOCAD with Focadhesin. In the Landrace and Yorkshire breeds, PDE6D was associated with GTPase inhibitor activity. Conclusions: Through GWAS and ROH analyses, we identified breed-specific SNP markers associated with NBA and TNB in three breed genotypes, providing insights for improving reproductive performance efficiency and contributing to future breeding strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The hair follicle (HF) is a micro-organ capable of regeneration. A HF cycle consists of an anagen, catagen and telogen. Abnormalities in the HF cycle can lead to many hair disorders such as hair loss. The pig is a good biomedical model, but there are few data on their HF cycle. The aim of this study was to classify the pig HF cycle and determine the feasibility of the pig as an animal model for human HF cycle. Methods: Skin samples from 10 different postnatal (P) days Yorkshire pigs was collected to determine the key time points of the first HF cycle in pig by H&E staining, immunofluorescence staining, q-PCR and western-blot. Results: By morphological observation and detection of markers at different stages, pig HF cycle was classified into three main periods - the first anagen until P45, catagen (P45-P85), telogen (P85-P100), and next anagen (>P100). In addition, we examined the expression of important genes AE15, CD34, Versican, Ki67 et al. related to the HF cycle at different stages of pig HF, indicating that pig and human share similarities in morphology and marker gene expression patterns of HF cycle. Discussion: Our findings will facilitate the study of HF cycle and offer researchers a suitable model for human hair research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background : Obesity in humans can lead to chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Similarly, subcutaneous fat (SCF) in pigs affects feed utilization, and excessive SCF can reduce the feed efficiency of pigs. Therefore, identifying factors that suppress fat deposition is particularly important. Numerous studies have implicated the gut microbiome in pigs' fat deposition, but research into its suppression remains scarce. The Lulai black pig (LL) is a hybrid breed derived from the Laiwu pig (LW) and the Yorkshire pig, with lower levels of SCF compared to the LW. In this study, we focused on these breeds to identify microbiota that regulate fat deposition. The key questions were: Which microbial populations reduce fat in LL pigs compared to LW pigs, and what is the underlying regulatory mechanism? Results: In this study, we identified four different microbial strains, Eubacterium siraeum, Treponema bryantii, Clostridium sp. CAG:413, and Jeotgalibaca dankookensis, prevalent in both LW and LL pigs. Blood metabolome analysis revealed 49 differential metabolites, including tanshinone IIA and royal jelly acid, known for their anti-adipogenic properties. E. siraeum was strongly correlated with these metabolites, and its genes and metabolites were enriched in pathways linked to fatty acid degradation, glycerophospholipid, and glycerolipid metabolism. In vivo mouse experiments confirmed that E. siraeum metabolites curb weight gain, reduce SCF adipocyte size, increase the number of brown adipocytes, and regulate leptin, IL-6, and insulin secretion. Finally, we found that one important pathway through which E. siraeum inhibits fat deposition is by suppressing the phosphorylation of key proteins in the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway through the reduction of tyrosine. Conclusions: We compared LW and LL pigs using fecal metagenomics, metabolomics, and blood metabolomics, identifying E. siraeum as a strain linked to fat deposition. Oral administration experiments in mice demonstrated that E. siraeum effectively inhibits fat accumulation, primarily through the suppression of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, a critical regulator of lipid metabolism. These findings provide a valuable theoretical basis for improving pork quality and offer insights relevant to the study of human obesity and related chronic metabolic diseases. A8f-W15s7ymTLwKonxAA6E Video Abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The hair follicle (HF) is a micro-organ capable of regeneration. A HF cycle consists of an anagen, catagen and telogen. Abnormalities in the HF cycle can lead to many hair disorders such as hair loss. The pig is a good biomedical model, but there are few data on their HF cycle. The aim of this study was to classify the pig HF cycle and determine the feasibility of the pig as an animal model for human HF cycle. Methods: Skin samples from 10 different postnatal (P) days Yorkshire pigs was collected to determine the key time points of the first HF cycle in pig by H&E staining, immunofluorescence staining, q-PCR and western-blot. Results: By morphological observation and detection of markers at different stages, pig HF cycle was classified into three main periods - the first anagen until P45, catagen (P45-P85), telogen (P85-P100), and next anagen (>P100). In addition, we examined the expression of important genes AE15, CD34, Versican, Ki67 et al. related to the HF cycle at different stages of pig HF, indicating that pig and human share similarities in morphology and marker gene expression patterns of HF cycle. Discussion: Our findings will facilitate the study of HF cycle and offer researchers a suitable model for human hair research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objectives] This study was conducted to breed special pig breeds resistant to diarrhea by using modern biotechnology. [Methods) From Guizhou local breeds, such as Nuogu pigs, Kele pig, Yorkshire pigs and Duroc pigs, 190 samples were collected for the analysis of anti-diarrhea gene. [Results] The anti-diarrhea genotype frequency of Kele pigs was 70.00%, which was higher than that of Nuogu pigs (67.37%) and Yorkshire pigs (Yorkshire pigs and Duroc pigs) (50.59%). The favorable anti-diarrhea gene of all Nuogu pigs, Kele pigs, and Yorkshire pigs and Duroc pigs was G, with gene frequencies of 0.735 5, 0.836 8 and 0.850 0, respectively, and the frequencies of allele A were 0.264 5, 0.163 2 and 0.150 0, respectively. In the process of generation selection, combination selection of GG ♂ x GG ♀, GG ♂ x GA ♀, GA ♂ x GG ♀ and GA % x GA ♀ was conducted, and GG individuals were selected while gradually phasing out GA and AA individuals. The anti-diarrhea genotypes of 98 pig in the offspring were tested, and it was found that the frequency of genotype GG was greatly improved, and the frequencies in Nuogu pigs, Kele pigs, Yorkshire pigs and Duroc pigs were increased to 73.91%, 81.82%, 85.25% and 66.67% respectively, thus forming a special anti-diarrhea breed. [Conclusions] This study provides a basis for selecting excellent breeding pigs, establishing core populations and screening resistance genes in the core populations and their offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This study was conducted to ascertain the net energy requirements for maintenance in gestating sows utilizing indirect calorimetry, and to evaluate the potential of daily heart rate monitoring as a predictive method for these energy needs. In the first experiment, six sows were subjected to varying energy intake levels, and their heat production was measured to determine energy requirements. In the second experiment, heart rate data were collected to explore its predictive value. The results indicated that the net energy requirements for maintenance averaged 410 kJ/BW0.75·d−1 during late gestation, and it was also found that heart rate monitoring could accurately predict energy requirements, offering a practical tool for managing sow nutrition. These insights are instrumental for refining feeding strategies within pig production, leading to enhanced animal welfare and improved economic efficiency. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the net energy requirements for the maintenance of gestating sows based on indirect calorimetry, and (2) to explore the feasibility of predicting the net energy requirements for the maintenance of gestating sows based on daily heart rate monitoring. In Exp. 1, six Landrace × Yorkshire crossbred reproductive sows with an initial body weight of 229.5 ± 14.9 kg at d 56 of gestation were randomly assigned to six diverse energy feeding levels using a 6 × 6 Latin square design. The experimental diet was formulated using corn, soybean meal, and wheat bran as major ingredients, and the six feeding levels were set as 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, 2.0, and 2.2 times metabolizable energy for maintenance (100 kcal ME/kg BW0.75·d−1), respectively. The animal trial lasted for six periods with 9 days per period, encompassing 5 days of adaptation, 3 days of calorimetry in fed state, and 1 day of calorimetry in fasting state. In Exp. 2, six Landrace × Yorkshire crossbred pregnant sows with an initial body weight of 232.5 ± 12.5 kg at d 64 were fed a corn–soybean meal diet. All sows were tested in a respiratory calorimetry chamber for a 4 day calorimetry test. The heat production of the gestation sows was measured every 5 min using indirect calorimetry, and the heart rate of the gestating sows was recorded every minute using a belt-shape monitor. The results showed that the net energy requirements for the maintenance of gestating sows significant increased as the gestational stage progressed (p < 0.05), and a linear regression model revealed the average net energy requirement for the maintenance of gestating sows was 410 kJ/BW0.75 d−1 during late gestation (days 70–110). Moreover, the average heart rate of the gestating sows was 84 bpm, and the mathematical model developed to predict the net energy requirements for the maintenance of gestating sows was N E m (k c a l / h) = 1990 1 + e x p ⁡ [ 136 − H R (b p m) 43 ] . In conclusion, the average net energy requirement for the maintenance of sows during late gestation was 410 kJ/BW0.75 d−1, and the utilization of the heart rate monitoring method was found to provide a relevant, accurate prediction for the net energy requirements of sows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: With the development of technology and science, automated farming methods have gradually begun to replace traditional manual feeding methods, offering advantages such as precise feeding and reduced labor costs. However, there is still a lack of extensive research on the effects of different feeding methods on the reproductive performance of pigs and the diversity of their intestinal microbiota. This study analyzed the reproductive performance of Yorkshire pigs fed the same diet under different feeding methods, and further explored the diversity of their intestinal microbiota, aiming to elucidate the interactions between feeding methods, intestinal microbiota, and reproductive phenotypes, in order to understand the impact of the interaction between feeding methods and intestinal microbiota on host reproductive performance. This study aims to provide a certain theoretical and experimental basis for the promotion of automated feeding modes. The feeding mode is an important factor affecting the reproductive performance of pigs. The composition and expression of the intestinal microbiota are closely related to the physiological and biochemical indicators of animals. Therefore, to explore the impact of different feeding patterns on the reproductive performance of pigs, this study collected reproductive performance data from 1607 Yorkshire pigs raised under different feeding patterns and conducted a fixed-effect variance analysis. Among them, 731 were in the artificial feeding (AM) group and 876 were in the feeding station feeding (SM) group. Additionally, 40 Yorkshire sows in the late gestation period were randomly selected from each feeding mode for intestinal microbiota analysis. The results of the analysis showed that, in the AM group, both the number of birth deformities (NBD) and the number of stillbirths (NSB) were significantly greater than they were in the SM group (p < 0.05). Additionally, the total number born (TNB) in the AM group was significantly lower than that in the SM group (p < 0.05). The results of the intestinal microbiota analysis revealed that at the phylum level, there were significant differences in nine bacterial taxa between the AM and SM groups (p < 0.05). At the genus level, the abundance of a variety of beneficial bacteria related to reproductive performance in the SM group was significantly greater than that in the AM group. Finally, fecal metabolomic analysis revealed that the contents of butyric acid, isovaleric acid, valeric acid, and isobutyric acid, which are associated with reproductive performance, in the feces of sows in the SM group were significantly higher than those in the AM group (p < 0.05). These results indicate that different feeding methods can affect the gut microbiota composition of Yorkshire pigs and further influence the reproductive performance of pigs through the gut microbiota–metabolic product pathway. The results of this study provide valuable insights for further exploring the relationships between feeding modes, intestinal microbial composition, and host phenotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: We previously demonstrated that Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs differ in growth rate and meat quality. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for such phenotypic differences remain unclear. In the present study, we performed a transcriptomic analysis of 36 longissimus dorsi (LM) and 36 soleus (SM) muscle samples from Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs at six postnatal stages (30, 60, 90, 150, 210 and 300 days) to explore the differences in postnatal skeletal muscle of Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs. RESULTS: Muscle morphological changes and the number of differentially expressed genes indicated the two stages of 60–90 days and 150–210 days were critical for the muscle growth and development in Shaziling pigs. Genes such as FLNC, COL1A1, NRAP, SMYD1, TNNI3, CRYAB and PDLIM3 played vital roles in the muscle growth, and genes such as CCDC71L, LPIN1, CPT1A, UCP3, NR4A3 and PDK4 played dominant roles in the lipid metabolism. Additionally, in contrast to the LM, the percentage of slow‐twitch muscle fibers in the SM of both breeds consistently decreased from 30 to 150 days of age, but there was a significant rebound at 210 days of age. However, the percentage of slow‐twitch muscle fibers in the SM of Shaziling pigs was higher than that in Yorkshire pigs, which may be associated with the calcium signaling pathway and the PPARβ/δ signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: The present study detected two critical periods and many functional genes for the muscle growth and development of Shaziling pigs, and showed differences in muscle fiber characteristics between Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Inbreeding increases homozygosity, often leading to the co-expression of recessive deleterious alleles and a reduction in genetic diversity. Traditional methods involve pedigree-based analysis, but high-density arrays have enabled precise estimations using genomic markers. A study comparing genomic inbreeding coefficients from DNA marker data with conventional coefficients from pedigree information in Korean commercial pig breeds reveals differences in inbreeding levels and trends among breeds. The finding highlights differences in inbreeding levels and trends among breeds, emphasizing the importance of using both genomic and conventional methods for a comprehensive understanding of inbreeding, which is crucial for effective breeding programs and maintaining genetic diversity. The purpose of this study was to estimate the homozygosity distribution and compute genomic and conventional inbreeding coefficients in three genetically diverse pig breed populations. The genomic and pedigree data of Duroc (1586), Landrace (2256), and Yorkshire (3646) were analyzed. We estimated and compared various genomic and pedigree inbreeding coefficients using different models and approaches. A total of 709,384 ROH segments in Duroc, 816,898 in Landrace, and 1,401,781 in Yorkshire, with average lengths of 53.59 Mb, 56.21 Mb, and 53.46 Mb, respectively, were identified. Relatively, the Yorkshire breed had the shortest ROH segments, whereas the Landrace breed had the longest mean ROH segments. Sus scrofa chromosome 1 (SSC1) had the highest chromosomal coverage by ROH across all breeds. Across breeds, an absolute correlation (1.0) was seen between FROH total and FROH1–2Mb, showing that short ROH were the primary contributors to overall FROH values. The overall association between genomic and conventional inbreeding was weak, with values ranging from 0.058 to 0.140. In contrast, total genomic inbreeding (FROH) and ROH classes showed a strong association, ranging from 0.663 to 1.00, across the genotypes. The results of genomic and conventional inbreeding estimates improve our understanding of the genetic diversity among genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ostechondritis dissecans (OCD) is an orthopaedic disease characterized by formation of osteochondral defects in developing joints. Epiphyseal cartilage necrosis (osteochondrosis [OC]) caused by focal failure of vascular supply is the known precursor lesion of OCD, but it remains to be established how the severity of vascular failure drives lesion healing or progression. In the current study we have implemented a novel piglet model of induced osteochondrosis of the lateral trochlear ridge of the femur to determine the role that the extent of ischemia plays in the development and progression of OC/OCD lesions. Ten 4-week-old Yorkshire piglets underwent surgical interruption of the vascular supply to the entirety (n = 4 pigs) or the distal half (n = 6 pigs) of the lateral trochlear ridge of the femur. At 2, 6, and 12 weeks postoperatively, distal femora were evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the fate of induced OC lesions. At 12 weeks, piglets were euthanized, and the surgical sites were examined histologically. After complete devascularization, lesion size increased between the 6- and 12-week MRI by an average of 24.8 mm2 (95% CI: [-2.2, 51.7]; p = 0.071). During the same period, lesion size decreased by an average of 7.6 mm2 (95% CI: [-24.5, 19.4]; p = 0.83) in piglets receiving partial devascularization. At 12 weeks, average ± SD lesion size was larger (p<0.001) in piglets undergoing complete (73.5 ± 17.6 mm2) vs. partial (16.5 ± 9.8 mm2) devascularization. Our study demonstrates how the degree of vascular interruption determines lesion size and likelihood of healing in a large animal model of trochlear OC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated factors associated with the incidence of stillbirth in young hyper‐prolific sows within free farrowing systems in tropical environments. A total of 714 live‐born and 54 stillborn piglets from 57 Landrace × Yorkshire sows, with an average parity of 2.7 ± 1.0 (range: 1 – 4), were comprehensively investigated. Reproductive variables of the sows, including gestation length, farrowing duration, the total number of piglets born per litter, and the birth order and status of each piglet, were recorded. Differences in the physiological characteristics of live‐born and stillborn piglets, such as birth interval, cumulative birth interval, body weight at birth, crown‐rump length, body mass index (BMI), ponderal index (PI), meconium staining score, and the percentage of piglets with a broken umbilical cord, were analysed. Piglets were divided into four groups based on the quartiles of birth order (Q1–Q4). On average, the duration of farrowing was 173.3 ± 85.9 min, and the total number of piglets born and number of piglets born alive‐per litter were 14.1 ± 3.8 and 12.5 ± 3.5, respectively. The incidence of stillbirth was 6.7% (54/801 piglets). The higher percentages of stillbirths were detected in sows with large litter sizes (≥17 piglets, 10.9%) compared to those with small (≤13 piglets, 6.1%) and moderate (14 – 16 piglets, 2.8%) litter sizes (p <.001). The incidences of stillbirth in Q3 and Q4 of the litters were higher than in Q1 and Q2 (p <.001). Compared to live‐born piglets, stillborn piglets had higher cumulative birth interval (103.0 ± 3.71 vs. 142.4 ± 9.35 min, p <.001), BMI (17.1 ± 0.15 vs. 18.4 ± 0.39 kg/m2, p =.002), PI (63.7 ± 0.59 vs. 70.8 ± 1.59 kg/m3, p <.001), meconium staining scores (1.78 ± 0.04 vs. 2.04 ± 0.10, p =.021), and the percentage of piglets born with a ruptured umbilical cord (45.2% vs. 66.0%, p =.004). An increase in the incidence of stillbirth was detected at 60, 120, 150, 180, and ≥ 210 min after the first piglet was born, compared to those born within the first 30 min of farrowing (p <.05). In conclusion, the study found that stillbirths in young, hyper‐prolific sows were linked to several factors: large litter sizes (≥17 piglets per litter), prolonged cumulative birth intervals (142.4 min), elevated BMI of 18.4 kg/m2, high PI values of 70.8 kg/m3, increased meconium staining scores, and a higher occurrence of ruptured umbilical cords. To reduce the risk of stillbirth, particularly among piglets with high body indices born later in the birthing process, it is recommended to enhance farrowing supervision for young sows, starting at a cumulative birth interval of 60 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although both clinical data and animal models suggest cardiovascular benefits following administration of Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We therefore sought to evaluate the effect of the DPP-4 inhibitor sitagliptin on myocardial fibrosis, and insulin signaling in chronic myocardial ischemia using a swine model. An ameroid constrictor placement on the left coronary circumflex artery of thirteen Yorkshire swine to model chronic myocardial ischemia. After two weeks of recovery, swine were assigned to one of two groups: control (CON, n = 8), or sitagliptin 100mg daily (SIT, n = 5). After 5 weeks of treatment, the swine underwent terminal harvest with collection of myocardial tissue. Fibrosis was quantified using Masson's trichrome. Protein expression was quantified by Immunoblotting. Trichrome stain demonstrated a significant decrease in perivascular and interstitial fibrosis in the SIT group relative to CON (all p<0.05). Immunoblot showed a reduction in Jak2, the pSTAT3 to STAT 3 Ratio, pSMAD 2/3, and SMAD 2/3, and an increase in STAT 3 in the SIT group relative to CON (all p<0.05). SIT treatment was associated with increased expression of insulin receptor one and decreased expression of makers for insulin resistance, including phospho-PKC- alpha, RBP-4, SIRT1, and PI3K (p<0.05). Sitagliptin results in a reduction in perivascular and interstitial fibrosis and increased insulin sensitivity in chronically ischemic swine myocardium. This likely contributes to the improved cardiovascular outcomes seen with DPP-4 inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Teat number is a vital reproductive trait in sows, crucial for providing immunity and nutrition to piglets during lactation. However, "missing heritability" in Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP)-based Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) has led to an increasing focus on structural variations in the genetic analysis of complex biological traits. Results: In this study, we generated a comprehensive CNV map in a population of French Yorkshire pigs (n = 644) and identified 429 CNVRs. Notably, 44% (189 CNVRs) of these were detected for the first time. Subsequently, we conducted GWAS for teat number in the French Yorkshire pig population using both 80K chip and its imputed data, as well as a GWAS analysis based on CNV regions (CNVR). Interestingly, 80K chip GWAS identified two SNPs located on Sus scrofa chromosome 5 (SSC5) that were simultaneously associated with Total Teat Number (TTN), Left Teat Number (LTN), and Right Teat Number (RTN). The leading SNP (WU_10.2_5_76130558) explained 3.33%, 2.69%, and 2.67% of the phenotypic variance for TTN, LTN, and RTN, respectively. Moreover, through imputed GWAS, we successfully identified 30 genetic variants associated with TTN located within the 73.22 -73.30 Mb region on SSC5. The two SNPs identified in the 80K chip GWAS were also located in this region. In addition, CNVR-based GWAS revealed three significant CNVRs associated with TTN. Finally, through gene annotation, we pinpointed two candidate genes, TRIM66 and PRICKLE1, which are related to diverse processes such as breast cancer and abnormal vertebral development. Conclusions: Our research provides an in-depth analysis of the complex genetic structure underlying teat number, contributing to the genetic enhancement of sows with improved reproductive performance and, ultimately, bolstering the economic benefits of swine production enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pig farming in India faces challenges in meeting the growing demand for pork, necessitating improvements in nutrient utilization, feed conversion, and growth rates in pigs. Mycotoxins are naturally occurring fungal toxins that can contaminate pig feed at various stages of production, leading to adverse health effects in pigs. The study was designed to assess the efficacy of supplementation of herbal product in mitigating the negative effects of low levels of mycotoxins in the diet and economics involved in the cost of production. The 18 weaned large white Yorkshire piglets of four weeks age with body weight 6-8 kg were randomly divided into three groups (T0, T1 and T2) comprising of six piglets in each group. All the animals were reared for a period of four months and were fed with mycotoxin levels at maximum permissible levels. The animals in T0 were not given herbal supplementation. The animals in T1 were supplemented with herbal supplementation and T2 were supplemented with Commercial mycotoxin binder. The experimental animals were observed fortnightly interval for body weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), carcass characters and hemato-biochemical parameters. At 8th fortnight interval; body weight was significantly high in T1 and T2 and significantly low in T0 groups. The overall FCR of four months showed significant differences among different groups and was significantly high in T0, and low in T1 group. At the end of 5th month age, hot carcass weight, dressing percentage, carcass length, meat percent were significantly high in T1 and T2 and low in T0 group. It has been inferred that the use of herbomineral mixture and toxin binders in the feed is very advantageous in reducing adverse effect of mycotoxins on piglet performance. The herbomineral mixture was found effective similar to commercial toxin binder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The problem of low fertility in Tibetan pigs has a long history. In order to solve the problem of low fertility in Tibetan pigs, in this study, we successfully constructed cDNA libraries of the transcriptome from ovarian tissues of Tibetan and Yorkshire pigs using RNA-Seq technology, analyzed and screened the genes significantly enriched in the pathways closely related to the regulation of reproduction, and finally identified AR, CYP11A1, CYP17A1, INHBA, ARRB2, EGFR, ETS1, HSD17B1, IGF1R, MIF, SCARB1, and SMAD4 as important candidate genes. The 12 differentially expressed genes screened in relation to reproduction were validated using RT-qPCR. The results showed that six genes were highly significantly (p < 0.01) higher in expression in Tibetan pigs than in Yorkshire pigs, i.e., AR, CYP17A1, EGFR, ETS1, IGF1R, and SMAD4; on the other hand, six genes were highly significantly (p < 0.01) lower in expression in Tibetan pigs than in Yorkshire pigs, i.e., CYP11A1, INHBA, ARRB2, HSD17B, MIF, SCARB1. This study provides a theoretical basis for improving the regulatory genes in Tibetan pigs. The purpose of this study was to explore and verify genes that regulate the reproductive traits of Tibetan pigs at the mRNA level. The ovarian tissues of Tibetan pigs (TPs) and Yorkshire pigs (YPs) were selected as research objects, and cDNA libraries of the ovarian tissue transcripts of Tibetan pigs and Yorkshire pigs were successfully constructed by the RNA-Seq technique. A total of 651 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened, including 414 up-regulated genes and 237 down-regulated genes. Through GO and KEGG enrichment analysis, it was found that these differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in cell process, reproductive process, reproduction, cell proliferation, binding, and catalytic activity, as well as oxidative phosphorylation, endocrine resistance, thyroid hormone, Notch, and other signal transduction pathways. Genes significantly enriched in pathways closely related to reproductive regulation were analyzed and selected, and the AR, CYP11A1, CYP17A1, INHBA, ARRB2, EGFR, ETS1, HSD17B1, IGF1R, MIF, SCARB1, and SMAD4 genes were identified as important candidate genes. Twelve differentially expressed genes related to reproduction were verified by RT-qPCR. The results showed that the expression of the AR, CYP17A1, EGFR, ETS1, IGF1R, and SMAD4 genes was significantly higher in Tibetan pigs than in Yorkshire pigs, while the expression of the CYP11A1, INHBA, ARRB2, HSD17B, MIF, and SCARB1 genes in Tibetan pigs was significantly lower than in Yorkshire pigs. The purpose of this study is to provide a theoretical basis for exploring the molecular mechanism of reproductive trait effect genes and the application of molecular breeding in Tibetan pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was carried out during summer season at the centre of All India Coordinated Research Project on pigs in Tirupati (India) on 24 Large White Yorkshire crossbred weaner pigs of 8 weeks of age and 9-10 kg of body weight, which were randomly divided into four groups (I, II, III and IV) of six animals each (3 males and 3 females). The Group-I was taken as control, Group-II was provided with fan for cooling, Group-III was provided with water splashing over the body, and Group-IV was provided with wet gunny bags around the pen. The study revealed that the housing management interventions had significant effect on all aspects studied. Among the four experimental groups, the Group III (water splashing) had shown the lowest values of temperature-humidity index (78.85±0.13), physiological parameters such as rectal temperature (101.7±0.03 oF), respiration rate (38.17±0.86 breaths/min) and pulse rate (70.36±0.19 beats/min), serum biochemical parameters such as SGOT (55.34±1.38 IU/L) and SGPT (32.67±0.78 IU/L), and the highest values of growth parameters such as final body weight (34.76±0.11 kg) and overall Average Daily Gain (0.28±0.00 kg/day). From the results, it was concluded that splashing water over the animal body proved to be a more effective cooling practice for providing better microenvironment and maintaining better growth performance, as well as normal physiological and biochemical functions in the body, among the housing management practices examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multi-population genomic prediction can rapidly expand the size of the reference population and improve genomic prediction ability. Machine learning (ML) algorithms have shown advantages in single-population genomic prediction of phenotypes. However, few studies have explored the effectiveness of ML methods for multi-population genomic prediction. Results: In this study, 3720 Yorkshire pigs from Austria and four breeding farms in China were used, and single-trait genomic best linear unbiased prediction (ST-GBLUP), multitrait GBLUP (MT-GBLUP), Bayesian Horseshoe (BayesHE), and three ML methods (support vector regression (SVR), kernel ridge regression (KRR) and AdaBoost.R2) were compared to explore the optimal method for joint genomic prediction of phenotypes of Chinese and Austrian pigs through 10 replicates of fivefold cross-validation. In this study, we tested the performance of different methods in two scenarios: (i) including only one Austrian population and one Chinese pig population that were genetically linked based on principal component analysis (PCA) (designated as the "two-population scenario") and (ii) adding reference populations that are unrelated based on PCA to the above two populations (designated as the "multi-population scenario"). Our results show that, the use of MT-GBLUP in the two-population scenario resulted in an improvement of 7.1% in predictive ability compared to ST-GBLUP, while the use of SVR and KKR yielded improvements in predictive ability of 4.5 and 5.3%, respectively, compared to MT-GBLUP. SVR and KRR also yielded lower mean square errors (MSE) in most population and trait combinations. In the multi-population scenario, improvements in predictive ability of 29.7, 24.4 and 11.1% were obtained compared to ST-GBLUP when using, respectively, SVR, KRR, and AdaBoost.R2. However, compared to MT-GBLUP, the potential of ML methods to improve predictive ability was not demonstrated. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that ML algorithms can achieve better prediction performance than multitrait GBLUP models in multi-population genomic prediction of phenotypes when the populations have similar genetic backgrounds; however, when reference populations that are unrelated based on PCA are added, the ML methods did not show a benefit. When the number of populations increased, only MT-GBLUP improved predictive ability in both validation populations, while the other methods showed improvement in only one population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress in farrowing sows is associated with the number of piglets crushed or attacked. Sow's behaviour is variable and heritable, therefore genetic selection can be a viable approach for improving pig's welfare. In this report, we used first parity litter records of Yorkshire sows to test a genetic evaluation model for piglet crushing. The data were split into training and validation to check the prediction accuracy of piglet crushing estimated breeding values (EBVs) for young sows. We found that the estimated heritability of piglet crushing was 0.07 ± 0.03. The difference in the EBVs in the validation set was equivalent to 0.15 more piglets crushed in the top 10% group than in the bottom group of sows. These results indicate that the genetic selection may be used to reduce piglet crushing which will improve the welfare of pigs as well as production efficiency. The average reliability of the estimated EBVs across all animals in the pedigree was (0.07; 0.0 to 0.72). More research on evaluation models and the genetics underlying sow stress and behaviour is warranted to improve the reliabilities of modeling and to identify robust genetic markers for animal breeding for the implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate the reproducibility of a vessel-specific minimum cost path (MCP) technique used for lobar segmentation on noncontrast computed tomography (CT). Methods: Sixteen Yorkshire swine (49.9 ± 4.7 kg, mean ± standard deviation) underwent a total of 46 noncontrast helical CT scans from November 2020 to May 2022 using a 320-slice scanner. A semiautomatic algorithm was employed by three readers to segment the lung tissue and pulmonary arterial tree. The centerline of the arterial tree was extracted and partitioned into six subtrees for lobar assignment. The MCP technique was implemented to assign lobar territories by assigning lung tissue voxels to the nearest arterial tree segment. MCP-derived lobar mass and volume were then compared between two acquisitions, using linear regression, root mean square error (RMSE), and paired sample t-tests. An interobserver and intraobserver analysis of the lobar measurements was also performed. Results: The average whole lung mass and volume was 663.7 ± 103.7 g and 1,444.22 ± 309.1 mL, respectively. The lobar mass measurements from the initial (MLobe1) and subsequent (MLobe2) acquisitions were correlated by MLobe1 = 0.99 MLobe2 + 1.76 (r = 0.99, p = 0.120, RMSE = 7.99 g). The lobar volume measurements from the initial (VLobe1) and subsequent (VLobe2) acquisitions were correlated by VLobe1 = 0.98VLobe2 + 2.66 (r = 0.99, p = 0.160, RSME = 15.26 mL). Conclusions: The lobar mass and volume measurements showed excellent reproducibility through a vessel-specific assignment technique. This technique may serve for automated lung lobar segmentation, facilitating clinical regional pulmonary analysis. Relevance statement: Assessment of lobar mass or volume in the lung lobes using noncontrast CT may allow for efficient region-specific treatment strategies for diseases such as pulmonary embolism and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Key points: • Lobar segmentation is essential for precise disease assessment and treatment planning. • Current methods for segmentation using fissure lines are problematic. • The minimum-cost-path technique here is proposed and a swine model showed excellent reproducibility for lobar mass measurements. • Interobserver agreement was excellent, with intraclass correlation coefficients greater than 0.90. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The study objective was to test the hypothesis that low crude protein (CP) diet with crystalline amino acids (CAA) supplementation improves Lys utilization efficiency for milk production and reduces protein turnover and muscle protein breakdown. Eighteen lactating multiparous Yorkshire sows were allotted to 1 of 2 isocaloric diets (10.80 MJ/kg net energy): control (CON; 19.24% CP) and reduced CP with "optimal" AA profile (OPT; 14.00% CP). Sow body weight and backfat were recorded on d 1 and 21 of lactation and piglets were weighed on d 1, 14, 18, and 21 of lactation. Between d 14 and 18, a subset of 9 sows (CON = 4, OPT = 5) was infused with a mixed solution of 3-[methyl-2H3]histidine (bolus injection) and [13C]bicarbonate (priming dose) first, then a constant 2-h [13C]bicarbonate infusion followed by a 6-h primed constant [1-13C]lysine infusion. Serial blood and milk sampling were performed to determine plasma and milk Lys enrichment, Lys oxidation rate, whole body protein turnover, and muscle protein breakdown. Results: Over the 21-d lactation period, compared to CON, sows fed OPT had greater litter growth rate (P < 0.05). Compared to CON, sows fed OPT had greater efficiency of Lys (P < 0.05), Lys mammary flux (P < 0.01) and whole-body protein turnover efficiency (P < 0.05). Compared to CON, sows fed OPT tended to have lower whole body protein breakdown rate (P = 0.069). Muscle protein breakdown rate did not differ between OPT and CON (P = 0.197). Conclusion: Feeding an improved AA balance diet increased efficiency of Lys and reduced whole-body protein turnover and protein breakdown. These results imply that the lower maternal N retention observed in lactating sows fed improved AA balance diets in previous studies may be a result of greater partitioning of AA towards milk rather than greater body protein breakdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Young farm animals are susceptible to opportunistic infections which may cause economic losses due to mortality and poor weight gain. The development of antimicrobial resistance and the desire to improve therapy efficacy and safety are the reasons to seek for new antibacterial drugs ensuring rapid recovery with minimum adverse events. Aim: To estimate the efficacy of DOKSI AVZ 500 in respiratory pathologies in young pigs. Methods: The study was conducted in 65-70-day-old Yorkshire piglets with signs of bacterial respiratory pathologies. The animals were treated with the test drug for 3 or 5 days. The reference group received TETRAMAX 500 which is similar to the test drug in terms of chemical structure, mechanism of action, and activity spectrum. The animal's status was assessed using clinical examination, clinical blood count, and bacteriological tests. Results: Both test and reference drugs were well tolerated and ensured the animal recovery within about 4 days. The recovery was accompanied by normalization of hematological parameters and flora composition. The bacterium associated with the disease development, Streptococcus suis, was virtually completely eliminated in all groups. No adverse events were noted. After the treatment, all the animals readily gained weight and live market quality. Conclusion: DOKSI AVZ 500 was a highly efficient therapy for respiratory pathologies caused by the resident opportunistic flora in piglets. It has also shown noninferiority vs. TETRAMAX 500 in terms of all the health-related parameters and thus can be recommended for introduction in veterinary practice in pig farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to identify the significant regions and candidate genes of growth-related traits (adjusted backfat thickness [ABF], average daily gain [ADG], and days to 90 kg [DAYS90]) in Korean commercial GGP pig (Duroc, Landrace, and Yorkshire) populations. Methods: A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers for imputation to Illumina PorcineSNP60. The BayesB method was applied to calculate thresholds for the significance of SNP markers. The identified windows were considered significant if they explained =1% genetic variance. Results: A total of 28 window regions were related to genetic growth effects. Bayesian GWAS revealed 28 significant genetic regions including 52 informative SNPs associated with growth traits (ABF, ADG, DAYS90) in Duroc, Landrace, and Yorkshire pigs, with genetic variance ranging from 1.00% to 5.46%. Additionally, 14 candidate genes with previous functional validation were identified for these traits. Conclusion: The identified SNPs within these regions hold potential value for future markerassisted or genomic selection in pig breeding programs. Consequently, they contribute to an improved understanding of genetic architecture and our ability to genetically enhance pigs. SNPs within the identified regions could prove valuable for future marker-assisted or genomic selection in pig breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The CapG gene, which is an actin-binding protein, is prevalent in eukaryotic cells and is abundantly present in various pathways associated with plateau hypoxia adaptation. Tibetan pigs, which have inhabited high altitudes for extended periods, provide an excellent research population for investigating plateau hypoxia adaptation. Results: This study focused on Tibetan pigs and Yorkshire pigs residing in Nyingchi, Tibet. The blood physiological data of Tibetan pigs were found to be significantly higher than those of Yorkshire pigs, including RBC, HGB, HCT, MCH, and MCHC. The SNP analysis of the CapG gene identified six sites with mutations only present in Tibetan pigs. Notably, the transcription factors at sites C-489T, C-274T, and A-212G were found to be altered, and these sites are known to be associated with hypoxia adaptation and blood oxygen transportation. The mRNA expression of the CapG gene exhibited highly significant differences in several tissues, with the target proteins predominantly higher in the Yorkshire pig compared to the Tibetan pig. Specifically, a notable difference was observed in the lung tissues. Immunohistochemistry analysis revealed high expression levels of CapG proteins in the lung tissues of both Tibetan and Yorkshire pigs, primarily localized in the cytoplasm and cell membrane. Conclusion: The CapG gene plays a significant role in regulating hypoxia adaptation in Tibetan pigs. This study provides a theoretical basis for the conservation and utilization of Tibetan pig resources, the breeding of highland breeds, epidemic prevention and control, and holds great importance for the development of the highland livestock economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoring ischaemic myocardial tissue perfusion is crucial for minimizing infarct size. Acute mechanical left ventricular (LV) support has been suggested to improve infarct tissue perfusion. However, its regulatory mechanism remains unclear. We investigated the physiological mechanisms in six Yorkshire pigs, which were subjected to 90‐min balloon occlusion of the left anterior descending artery. During the acute reperfusion phase, LV support using an Impella heart pump was initiated. LV pressure, coronary flow and pressure of the infarct artery were simultaneously recorded to evaluate the impact of LV support on coronary physiology. Coronary wave intensity was calculated to understand the forces regulating coronary flow. Significant increases in coronary flow velocity and its area under the curve were found after mechanical LV support. Among the coronary flow‐regulating factors, coronary pressure was increased mainly during the late diastolic phase with less pulsatility. Meanwhile, LV pressure was reduced throughout diastole resulting in significant and consistent elevation of coronary driving pressure. Interestingly, the duration of diastole was prolonged with LV support. In the wave intensity analysis, the duration between backward suction and pushing waves was extended, indicating that earlier myocardial relaxation and delayed contraction contributed to the extension of diastole. In conclusion, mechanical LV support increases infarct coronary flow by extending diastole and augmenting coronary driving pressure. These changes were mainly driven by reduced LV diastolic pressure, indicating that the key regulator of coronary flow under mechanical LV support is downstream of the coronary artery, rather than upstream. Our study highlights the importance of LV diastolic pressure in infarct coronary flow regulation. Key points: Restoring ischaemic myocardial tissue perfusion is crucial for minimizing infarct size. Although mechanical left ventricular (LV) support has been suggested to improve infarct coronary flow, its specific mechanism remains to be clarified.LV support reduced LV pressure, and elevated coronary pressure during the late diastolic phase, resulting in high coronary driving pressure.This study demonstrated for the first time that mechanical LV support extends diastolic phase, leading to increased infarct coronary flow.Future studies should evaluate the correlation between improved infarct coronary flow and resulting infarct size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surgical castration can effectively avoid boar taint and improve pork quality by removing the synthesis of androstenone in the testis, thereby reducing its deposition in adipose tissue. The expression of genes involved in testis-derived hormone metabolism was altered following surgical castration, but the upstream regulatory factors and underlying mechanism remain unclear. In this study, we systematically profiled chromatin accessibility and transcriptional dynamics in liver tissue of castrated and intact full-sibling Yorkshire pigs. First, we identified 897 differentially expressed genes and 6864 differential accessible regions (DARs) using RNA- and ATAC-seq. By integrating the RNA- and ATAC-seq results, 227 genes were identified, and a significant positive correlation was revealed between differential gene expression and the ATAC-seq signal. We constructed a transcription factor regulatory network after motif analysis of DARs and identified a candidate transcription factor (TF) SP1 that targeted the HSD3B1 gene, which was responsible for the metabolism of androstenone. Subsequently, we annotated DARs by incorporating H3K27ac ChIP-seq data, marking 2234 typical enhancers and 245 super enhancers involved in the regulation of all testis-derived hormones. Among these, four typical enhancers associated with HSD3B1 were identified. Furthermore, an in-depth investigation was conducted on the androstenone-related enhancers, and an androstenone-related mutation was identified in a newfound candidatetypical enhancer (andEN) with dual-luciferase assays. These findings provide further insights into how enhancers function as links between phenotypic and non-coding area variations. The discovery of upstream TF and enhancers of HSD3B1 contributes to understanding the regulatory networks of androstenone metabolism and provides an important foundation for improving pork quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorine gas (Cl2) has been repeatedly used as a chemical weapon, first in World War I and most recently in Syria. Life-threatening Cl2 exposures frequently occur in domestic and occupational environments, and in transportation accidents. Modeling the human etiology of Cl2-induced acute lung injury (ALI), forensic biomarkers, and targeted countermeasures development have been hampered by inadequate large animal models. The objective of this study was to develop a translational model of Cl2-induced ALI in swine to understand toxico-pathophysiology and evaluate whether it is suitable for screening potential medical countermeasures and to identify biomarkers useful for forensic analysis. Specific pathogen-free Yorkshire swine (30–40 kg) of either sex were exposed to Cl2 (≤240 ppm for 1 h) or filtered air under anesthesia and controlled mechanical ventilation. Exposure to Cl2 resulted in severe hypoxia and hypoxemia, increased airway resistance and peak inspiratory pressure, and decreased dynamic lung compliance. Cl2 exposure resulted in increased total leucocyte and neutrophil counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, vascular leakage, and pulmonary edema compared with the air-exposed group. The model recapitulated all three key histopathological features of human ALI, such as neutrophilic alveolitis, deposition of hyaline membranes, and formation of microthrombi. Free and lipid-bound 2-chlorofatty acids and chlorotyrosine-modified proteins (3-chloro- l -tyrosine and 3,5-dichloro- l -tyrosine) were detected in plasma and lung tissue after Cl2 exposure. In this study, we developed a translational swine model that recapitulates key features of human Cl2 inhalation injury and is suitable for testing medical countermeasures, and validated chlorinated fatty acids and protein adducts as biomarkers of Cl2 inhalation. NEW & NOTEWORTHY: We established a swine model of chlorine gas-induced acute lung injury that exhibits several features of human acute lung injury and is suitable for screening potential medical countermeasures. We validated chlorinated fatty acids and protein adducts in plasma and lung samples as forensic biomarkers of chlorine inhalation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The current research evaluated the impact of adding dietary fiber to sows during the transitional phase, specifically examining its effects on constipation, the farrowing process, colostrum production, and the mortality of piglets before weaning within a free-farrowing system. Administering 75 g/day of dietary fiber to sows for 7 days before farrowing, especially in those with larger litters, showed a decrease in constipation rates and a reduction in the time taken for farrowing. Additionally, this fiber supplementation resulted in lower mortality rates in piglets prior to weaning. However, this addition of fiber did not improve the production of colostrum and milk, nor did it increase the consumption of colostrum by piglets. These results suggest that in a free-farrowing system, providing sows with dietary fiber during the transitional period can alleviate constipation and shorten the duration of farrowing. Nevertheless, it is advisable to manage the body condition of sows before farrowing to address issues like constipation effectively and to boost colostrum intake. This study investigated how dietary fiber supplementation during the transition period in sows affects constipation, farrowing duration, colostrum production, milk yield, and pre-weaning piglet mortality in the free-farrowing system. A total of 92 Landrace × Yorkshire sows and their 1272 offspring were included in the study. Sows were divided into two groups by parity: control (n = 41) and treatment (n = 51). The control group was fed a standard lactation diet 7 days before farrowing, whereas the treatment group received the same diet with 75 g/day of a dietary fiber supplement. The dietary fiber content analyses were 4.30% and 5.53% in the control and treatment groups, respectively. Sows were fed with 3.89 ± 0.92 kg per day with a diet containing 17.8% crude protein, 3732 kcal/kg of metabolizable energy, and 1.1% lysine. Parameters including farrowing duration, litter characteristics, and the fecal condition of sows were measured. Piglet mortality rates were recorded at 3, 7, and 21 days of lactation. Sows had an average farrowing duration of 216 ± 159 min, with litter sizes of 13.8 ± 4.2 piglets per litter, and a 7.4% stillbirth rate. The treatment group showed a lower constipation rate compared to the control group (17.6% vs. 46.3%, p = 0.003). Farrowing duration did not significantly differ between groups, but the treatment group experienced a 43.6 min shorter duration. In sows with litter sizes of ≥16 piglets per litter, the farrowing duration for sows in the treatment group tended to be shorter than that of the control groups (202.0 ± 37.9 vs. 287.5 ± 41.3 min, p = 0.115). The mean colostrum intake of piglets in the control and treatment groups averaged 424.0 ± 13.7 g and 421.8 ± 12.6 g, respectively (p = 0.908). Likewise, the milk production of sows from Days 3 to 10 and from Days 10 to 17 of lactation in the treatment group (7.34 ± 0.27 and 8.76 ± 0.43 kg/day, respectively) did not differ from that of the control group (7.85 ± 0.30 and 9.55 ± 0.47 kg/day, respectively, p > 0.05). Pre-weaning piglet mortality was slightly lower in the treatment group (13.4% vs. 17.3%, p = 0.085). Across groups, piglet mortality rates within 3, 7, and 21 days were 10.3%, 11.9%, and 15.4%, respectively. Piglets with a ≤200 g colostrum intake had a higher pre-weaning mortality compared to those with a higher intake (p < 0.05), except for the 201–300 g intake (p = 0.472). In conclusion, introducing dietary fiber to sows during the transition period reduced constipation and tended to decrease farrowing duration, especially in sows with large litters. Additionally, it lowered pre-weaning piglet mortality by 3.9% in the free-farrowing system. Nonetheless, providing sows with a 75 g/day dietary fiber supplement for only 7 days before farrowing was not enough to enhance colostrum and milk production, nor did it lead to an increase in piglet colostrum consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extent and depth of burn injury may mandate temporary use of cadaver skin (allograft) to protect the wound and allow the formation of granulation tissue while split-thickness skin grafts (STSGs) are serially harvested from the same donor areas. However, allografts are not always available and have a high cost, hence the interest in identifying more economical, readily available products that serve the same function. This study evaluated intact fish skin graft (IFSG) as a temporary cover to prepare the wound bed for STSG application. Thirty-six full-thickness (FT) 5 × 5 cm burn wounds were created on the dorsum of six anesthetized Yorkshire pigs on day −1. To mimic the two-stage clinical situation, on day 0, wounds were excised down to a bleeding wound bed and a temporary cover (either IFSG or cadaver porcine skin) was applied; then, on day 7, wounds were debrided to a viable wound bed prior to the application of autologous 1.5:1 meshed STSG (mSTSG). Rechecks were performed on days 14, 21, 28, 45, and 60 with digital images, non-invasive measurements, and punch biopsies. The IFSG created a granulated wound bed receptive to the application of an mSTSG. FT burn wounds treated with an IFSG had similar outcome measures, including contraction rates, trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) measurements, hydration, and blood perfusion levels, compared to cadaver skin-treated burn wounds. Pathology scoring indicated significant differences between the allograft- and IFSG-treated wounds on day 7, with the IFSG having increased angiogenesis, granulation tissue formation, and immune cells. Pathology scoring indicated no significant differences once mSTSGs were applied to wounds. The IFSG performed as well as cadaver skin as a temporary cover and was not inferior to the standard of care, suggesting the potential to transition IFSGs into clinical use for burns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are known to be cardioprotective independent of glucose control, but the mechanisms of these benefits are unclear. We previously demonstrated improved cardiac function and decreased fibrosis in a swine model of chronic myocardial ischemia. The goal of this study is to use high-sensitivity proteomic analyses to characterize specific molecular pathways affected by SGLT-2 inhibitor canagliflozin (CAN) therapy in a swine model of chronic myocardial ischemia. Methods: Chronic myocardial ischemia was induced in sixteen Yorkshire swine via the placement of an ameroid constrictor to the left circumflex coronary artery. After two weeks of recovery, swine received either 300 mg of CAN daily (n = 8) or a control (n = 8). After five weeks of therapy, the group of swine were euthanized, and left ventricular tissue was harvested and sent for proteomic analysis. Results: Total proteomic analysis identified a total of 3256 proteins between the CAN and control groups. Three hundred and five proteins were statistically different. This included 55 proteins that were downregulated (p < 0.05, fold change <0.5) and 250 that were upregulated (p < 0.05, fold change >2) with CAN treatment. Pathway analysis demonstrated the upregulation of several proteins involved in metabolism and redox activity in the CAN-treated group. The CAN group also exhibited a downregulation of proteins involved in motor activity and cytoskeletal structure. Conclusions: In our swine model of chronic myocardial ischemia, CAN therapy alters several proteins involved in critical molecular pathways, including redox regulation and metabolism. These findings provide additional mechanistic insights into the cardioprotective effects of canagliflozin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The gene expression of ovarian transcriptome varies among different gilt breeds. Here, we conducted a comparative analysis of ovarian and serum hormone levels during puberty onset between the indigenous Chinese Wanyue Black pig breed and the imported Yorkshire breed. Our findings revealed a significant enrichment of differentially expressed genes involved in the reproduction, ovarian follicle development, and hormone secretion signaling pathways. Additionally, employing bioinformatics analysis, we identified multiple candidate genes potentially involved in the regulation of the ovaries. Our results provide new insights on gilt ovary gene expressions among Chinese indigenous pig breeds versus Yorkshire which can serve as useful genetic tools to develop the gene assays for trait-associated studies. Pubertal genetic variations between the indigenous Chinese Wanyue Black pig breed and the imported Yorkshire breed significantly impact their reproductive capacity. In order to identify the differentially expressed genes, gene networks, and metabolic pathways in ovary transcriptome of gilts, the serum hormone levels were analyzed by ELISA, and RNA-seq was performed to analyze ovarian genes. Our results reveal higher estradiol (E2) levels in Wanyue black gilts compared to Yorkshire gilts, while Yorkshire gilts exhibit elevated progesterone (P4) and GnRH levels. We identified a total of 154 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with 87 up-regulated and 67 down-regulated genes in the Wanyue black gilts ovaries compared to the Yorkshire gilts. GO enrichment analysis unveiled the participation of DEGs in processes such as "Reproduction", "Reproductive system development", and "Ovarian follicle development". Moreover, KEGG enrichment analysis revealed the involvement of DEGs in multiple signaling pathways associated with hormone biosynthesis and puberty, encompassing "Steroid hormone biosynthesis", "Estrogen signaling pathway", and "Prolactin signaling pathway". The subsequent bioinformatics analysis identified nine functional genes that potentially contribute to the disparity in ovaries between Wanyue black gilts and Yorkshire gilts. This study offers significant insights into the endocrine and genetic aspects of pubertal development in gilts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small animal models have shown improved cardiac function with DPP-4 inhibition, but many human studies have shown worse outcomes or no benefit. We seek to bridge the gap by studying the DPP-4 inhibitor sitagliptin in a swine model of chronic myocardial ischemia using proteomic analysis. Thirteen Yorkshire swine underwent the placement of an ameroid constrictor on the left coronary circumflex artery to model chronic myocardial ischemia. Two weeks post-op, swine received either sitagliptin 100 mg daily (SIT, n = 5) or no drug (CON, n = 8). After 5 weeks of treatment, swine underwent functional measurements and tissue harvest. In the SIT group compared to CON, there was a trend towards decreased cardiac index (p = 0.06). The non-ischemic and ischemic myocardium had 396 and 166 significantly decreased proteins, respectively, in the SIT group compared to CON (all p < 0.01). This included proteins involved in fatty acid oxidation (FAO), myocardial contraction, and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Sitagliptin treatment resulted in a trend towards decreased cardiac index and decreased expression of proteins involved in OXPHOS, FAO, and myocardial contraction in both ischemic and non-ischemic swine myocardium. These metabolic and functional changes may provide some mechanistic evidence for outcomes seen in clinical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with intestinal failure who receive long-term parenteral nutrition (PN) often develop intestinal failure-associated liver disease (IFALD). Although there are identified risk factors, the early pathogenesis is poorly understood and treatment options are limited. Here, we perform a transcriptomic analysis of liver tissue in a large animal IFALD model to generate mechanistic insights and identify therapeutic targets. Preterm Yorkshire piglets were provided PN or bottle-fed with sow-milk replacer for 14 days. Compared to bottle-fed controls, piglets receiving PN developed biochemical cholestasis by day of life 15 (total bilirubin 0.2 vs. 2.9 mg/dL, P = 0.01). RNA-Seq of liver tissue was performed. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis identified 747 differentially expressed genes (343 upregulated and 404 downregulated) with an adjusted P < 0.05 and a fold-change of > |1|. Enriched canonical pathways were identified, demonstrating broad activation of inflammatory pathways and inhibition of cell cycle progression. Potential therapeutics including infliximab, glucocorticoids, statins, and obeticholic acid were identified as predicted upstream master regulators that may reverse the PN-induced gene dysregulation. The early driver of IFALD in neonates may be inflammation with an immature liver; identified therapeutics that target the inflammatory response in the liver should be investigated as potential treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Patients with advanced coronary artery disease (CAD) who are not eligible for stenting or surgical bypass procedures have limited treatment options. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of advanced CAD. These EVs can be conditioned to modify their contents. In our previous research, we demonstrated increased perfusion, decreased inflammation, and reduced apoptosis with intramyocardial injection of hypoxia-conditioned EVs (HEVs). The goal of this study is to further understand the function of HEVs by examining their impact on oxidative stress using our clinically relevant and extensively validated swine model of chronic myocardial ischemia. Methods: Fourteen Yorkshire swine underwent a left thoracotomy for the placement of an ameroid constrictor on the left circumflex coronary artery to model chronic myocardial ischemia. After two weeks of recovery, the swine underwent a redo thoracotomy with injection of either HEVs (n = 7) or a saline control (CON, n = 7) into the ischemic myocardium. Five weeks after injection, the swine were subjected to terminal harvest. Protein expression was measured using immunoblotting. OxyBlot analysis and 3-nitrotyrosine staining were used to quantify total oxidative stress. Results: There was a significant increase in myocardial expression of the antioxidants SOD 2, GPX-1, HSF-1, UCP-2, catalase, and HO-1 (all p ≤ 0.05) in the HEV group when compared to control animals. The HEVs also exhibited a significant increase in pro-oxidant NADPH oxidase (NOX) 1, NOX 3, p47phox, and p67phox (all p ≤ 0.05). However, no change was observed in the expression of NFkB, KEAP 1, and PRDX1 (all p > 0.05) between the HEV and CON groups. There were no significant differences in total oxidative stress as determined by OxyBlot and 3-nitrotyrosine staining (p = 0.64, p = 0.32) between the groups. Conclusions: Administration of HEVs in ischemic myocardium induces a significant increase in pro- and antioxidant proteins without a net change in total oxidative stress. These findings suggest that HEV-induced changes in redox signaling pathways may play a role in increased perfusion, decreased inflammation, and reduced apoptosis in ischemic myocardium. Further studies are required to determine if HEVs alter the net oxidative stress in ischemic myocardium at an earlier time point of HEV administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Average daily weight gain (ADG) is a dominant index for assessing the growth performance of pigs. In this study, we investigated the profound ramifications of microbiota and metabolites on the ADG of pigs. 16S rRNA sequencing and non-targeted metabolomics analysis were employed for identifying remarkably distinct microbiota and metabolites. The co-occurrence network analysis was conducted to explore the interaction between the fecal microbiota and serum metabolites. The results include ADG performance data, microbiota data, metabolite data, and the co-occurrence network, providing a valuable reference for the identification of molecular markers associated with ADG in the swine industry. The average daily weight gain (ADG) is considered a crucial indicator for assessing growth rates in the swine industry. Therefore, investigating the gastrointestinal microbiota and serum metabolites influencing the ADG in pigs is pivotal for swine breed selection. This study involved the inclusion of 350 purebred Yorkshire pigs (age: 90 ± 2 days; body weight: 41.20 ± 4.60 kg). Concurrently, serum and fecal samples were collected during initial measurements of blood and serum indices. The pigs were categorized based on their ADG, with 27 male pigs divided into high-ADG (HADG) and low-ADG (LADG) groups based on their phenotype values. There were 12 pigs in LADG and 15 pigs in HADG. Feces and serum samples were collected on the 90th day. Microbiome and non-targeted metabolomics analyses were conducted using 16S rRNA sequencing and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Pearson correlation, with Benjamini–Hochberg (BH) adjustment, was employed to assess the associations between these variables. The abundance of Lactobacillus and Prevotella in LADG was significantly higher than in HADG, while Erysipelothrix, Streptomyces, Dubosiella, Parolsenella, and Adlercreutzia in LADG were significantly lower than in HADG. The concentration of glutamine, etiocholanolone glucuronide, and retinoyl beta-glucuronide in LADG was significantly higher than in HADG, while arachidonic acid, allocholic acid, oleic acid, phenylalanine, and methyltestosterone in LADG were significantly lower than in HADG. The Lactobacillus–Streptomyces networks (Lactobacillus, Streptomyces, methyltestosterone, phenylalanine, oleic acid, arachidonic acid, glutamine, 3-ketosphingosine, L-octanoylcarnitine, camylofin, 4-guanidinobutyrate 3-methylcyclopentadecanone) were identified as the most influential at regulating swine weight gain. These findings suggest that the gastrointestinal tract regulates the daily weight gain of pigs through the network of Lactobacillus and Streptomyces. However, this study was limited to fecal and serum samples from growing and fattening boars. A comprehensive consideration of factors affecting the daily weight gain in pig production, including gender, parity, season, and breed, is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sepsis is a life-threatening state that arises due to a hyperactive inflammatory response stimulated by infection and rarely other insults (e.g., non-infections tissue injury). Although changes in several proinflammatory cytokines and signals are documented in humans and small animal models, far less is known about responses within affected tissues of large animal models. We sought to understand the changes that occur during the initial stages of inflammation by administering intravenous lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to Yorkshire pigs and assessing transcriptomic alterations in the brain, kidney, and whole blood. Robust transcriptional alterations were found in the brain, with upregulated responses enriched in inflammatory pathways and downregulated responses enriched in tight junction and blood vessel functions. Comparison of the inflammatory response in the pig brain to a similar mouse model demonstrated some overlapping changes but also numerous differences, including oppositely dysregulated genes between species. Substantial changes also occurred in the kidneys following LPS with several enriched upregulated pathways (cytokines, lipids, unfolded protein response, etc.) and downregulated gene sets (tube morphogenesis, glomerulus development, GTPase signal transduction, etc.). We also found significant dysregulation of genes in whole blood that fell into several gene ontology categories (cytokines, cell cycle, neutrophil degranulation, etc.). We observed a strong correlation between the brain and kidney responses, with significantly shared upregulated pathways (cytokine signaling, cell death, VEGFA pathways) and downregulated pathways (vasculature and RAC1 GTPases). In summary, we have identified a core set of shared genes and pathways in a pig model of systemic inflammation. Highlights: Robust inflammatory response in pig brain following LPS, with significant differences from a similar mouse model. Shared genes and pathways in the brain and kidneys following LPS in a pig model. Characterization of gene-level and isoform-level transcriptional alterations in blood, brain, and kidney post-LPS challenge in a pig model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) thermal ablation is an effective noninvasive ultrasonic therapy to disrupt in vivo porcine tendon but is prone to inducing skin burns. We evaluated the safety profile of a novel hybrid protocol that minimizes thermal spread by combining long-pulse focused ultrasound followed by thermal ablation. Methods: In-vivo Achilles tendons (hybrid N = 15, thermal ablation alone N = 21) from 15 to 20 kg Yorkshire pigs were randomly assigned to 6 treatment groups in two studies. The first (N = 21) was ablation (600, 900, or 1200 J). The second (N = 15) was hybrid: pulsed FUS (13.5 MPa peak negative pressure) followed by ablation (600, 900, or 1200 J). Measurements of ankle range of motion, tendon temperature, thermal dose (240 CEM43), and assessment of skin burn were performed in both groups. Results: Rupture was comparable between the two protocols: 1/5 (20%), 5/5 (100%) and 5/5 (100%) for hybrid protocol, compared to 2/7 (29%), 6/7 (86%) and 7/7 (100%) for the ablation-only protocol with energies of 600, 900, and 1200 J, respectively. The hybrid protocol produced lower maximum temperatures, smaller areas of thermal dose, fewer thermal injuries to the skin, and fewer full-thickness skin burns. The standard deviation for the area of thermal injury was also smaller for the hybrid protocol, suggesting greater predictability. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a hybrid MRgFUS protocol combining long-pulse FUS followed by thermal ablation to be noninferior and safer than an ablation-only protocol for extracorporeal in-vivo tendon rupture for future clinical application for noninvasive release of contracted tendon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is an RNA virus causing acute diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration and high mortality in piglets, and poses significant challenges for the global pig industry. However, the molecular mechanism underlying PEDV in piglets has not been well comprehended. In this study, we constructed the Yorkshire piglet model (control, resistance, and susceptible groups) to perform the proteomics of jejunum and metabolomics of serum. In total, 734 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and 208 significant differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were identified, and the functional annotation showed that they were mainly involved in metabolic and signal transduction pathways. Further, we used weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), short timeseries expression miner (STEM) and random forest analyses to detect key promising biomarkers for each corresponding group. By constructing the relationships between proteins and metabolites, we excavated the biomarkers and explained their molecular mechanism of the PEDV response. These data and results might be good resources for the PEDV infection and offer valuable insights into the molecular PEDV response mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The reproductive performance of pigs can vary due to the influence of genetic factors, and this is aggravated by environmental factors. Multiple complex factors affect the difference in the reproductive performance of boars in adulthood. This study examined those genetic differences in young piglets, at a time when they are less affected by the environment. Testicular tissue samples were used to explore candidate genes and related pathways affecting testicular size during early development. This experiment into the reproductive performance of pig breeds using the RNA-Seq analysis of testicular tissue with early developmental differences can provide a theoretical basis for breeding by determining key candidate genes that control testicular predevelopment. The data will be used for subsequent research into the genetic mechanism of boars, which is important for early breeding and improvement. The RNA-Seq technology was used to screen the key genes that affect the early development of the testes of Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire piglets, to determine the regulatory pathway and provide reference for subsequent reproductive performance research, breeding, and other production practices. This study selected 14-day-old Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire piglets as the trial animals. Testes from piglets with similar weights and no pathological changes were divided into small testis (ST) and large testis (LT) groups, and the RNA-Seq screening of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was performed to find candidate genes and regulatory pathways related to early testicular development. The results show that 570 DEGs were found in the ST and LT groups, with 281 upregulated and 289 downregulated. The DEGs were mainly enriched on 47 gene ontology (GO) functional items. The Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genotypes (KEGG) enrichment analysis found that there were 44 significantly enriched KEGG signal pathways, and the regulation of testicular development mainly focused on the arachidonic acid metabolism, Wnt signaling pathway and GnRH secretion pathways. The PTGES, SFRP1, SPP1, PLA2G4E, KCNJ5, PTGS2, and HCN1 genes were found to be as closely related to the testicular development of these Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire piglets, and the differential gene expression was consistent with the real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (real-time qRT-PCR) validation results. This study was validated by high-throughput sequencing analysis and real-time qRT-PCR, and showed that the PTGES, SFRP1, SPP1, PLA2G4E, KCNJ5, PTGS2, and HCN1 genes may be involved in the regulation of germ cell development, spermatogenesis and semen traits. These should be further studied as candidate genes for early testicular development and reproductive trait regulation in boars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: By integrating prior biological information into genomic selection methods using appropriate models, it is possible to improve prediction accuracy for complex traits. In this context, we conducted a comparative assessment of two genomic prediction models, namely, genomic best linear unbiased prediction and genomic feature best linear unbiased prediction. The accuracy of these models in predicting the growth traits of backfat thickness and loin muscle area was evaluated. Our results revealed that the genomic feature best linear unbiased prediction model can effectively integrate prior information into the model, which is superior to the genomic best linear unbiased prediction model in some cases. These findings provide valuable ideas for enhancing the genomic prediction accuracy of growth traits in pigs. Enhancing the accuracy of genomic prediction is a key goal in genomic selection (GS) research. Integrating prior biological information into GS methods using appropriate models can improve prediction accuracy for complex traits. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) is widely utilized to identify potential candidate loci associated with complex traits in livestock and poultry, offering essential genomic insights. In this study, a GWAS was conducted on 685 Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire (DLY) pigs to extract significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as genomic features. We compared two GS models, genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP) and genomic feature BLUP (GFBLUP), by using imputed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data on 651 Yorkshire pigs. The results revealed that the GBLUP model achieved prediction accuracies of 0.499 for backfat thickness (BFT) and 0.423 for loin muscle area (LMA). By applying the GFBLUP model with GWAS-based SNP preselection, the average prediction accuracies for BFT and LMA traits reached 0.491 and 0.440, respectively. Specifically, the GFBLUP model displayed a 4.8% enhancement in predicting LMA compared to the GBLUP model. These findings suggest that, in certain scenarios, the GFBLUP model may offer superior genomic prediction accuracy when compared to the GBLUP model, underscoring the potential value of incorporating genomic features to refine GS models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pituitary specific transcription factor-1 (Pit-1) gene is responsible for pituitary development and growth hormone expression, which is considered a pivotal candidate gene for growth in pig. This study aims to detect novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in porcine Pit-1 gene, investigate its effect on growth traits in the Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire pigs. Two novel polymorphisms were detected, one located in the intron 2 (g. 13700 A>G) and another located in exon 4 (g.25783 C>T) which caused an amino acid change from threonine to methionine (Thr36Met). At g.13700 A>G site, the frequency of A allele was higher than G allele in Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire. At the g.25783 C>T site, it was remarkable differences in allelic frequencies and genotypic frequencies among the three pig breeds. This study demonstrated the significant genotype effect of Pit-1 on body weights at 70 d, age when reached 30kg, 50kg, 100kg and average daily gain from 30kg to 100kg. According to our results, the novel Pit-1 polymorphisms may be useful in pig selection as molecular markers and required in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are located near CpG sites have the potential to influence DNA methylation levels, leading to distinct patterns of DNA methylation. These methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTLs) can influence methylation levels across the entire genome, thereby impacting phenotypic traits. In this study, we utilised reduced representation bisulphite sequencing (RRBS) to analyse DNA methylation in muscle tissue samples collected from 140 Yorkshire pigs. Additionally, we assessed SNPs using the Porcine 50K chip, examined 17 fatty acid traits, and conducted epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Our investigation revealed numerous associations between DNA methylation and fatty acid traits, including C16:0, C18:0, C20:3n-3, and C22:6n-3. Notably, a substantial portion of these associations was specifically identified by EWAS and not GWAS. Subsequently, we performed GWAS to identify meQTLs using methylation levels of significant CpGs from the EWAS as traits. The results revealed the predominance of trans-meQTLs; however, we also discovered a cis-meQTL on SSC12. Finally, we reported a crucial CpG site (SSC12:3735523) and its cis-meQTL on SSC12, which are located in close proximity to the FASN gene. Our findings contribute to the identification of CpG sites and their cis-meQTLs associated with fatty acid traits, utilising comprehensive genome and methylome data. Moreover, our study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying fatty acid traits in pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted on 21 crossbred Large White Yorkshire sows to assess the effect of flaxseed supplementation on oxidative stress in sows and growth of piglets. All sows were equally allocated into three groups. Group 1 served as the control and followed their normal feeding schedule. Group 2 and group 3, in addition to their normal feeding schedule, were supplemented with flaxseed at a rate of 0.5% and 1.0% of the dry matter, respectively. Blood samples were collected 15 days prior to farrowing, on the day of farrowing (day 0), at weekly intervals until day 28 of lactation and at monthly intervals during gestation to assess the oxidative status in each sow. Body weight and weight gain in each piglet was measured during lactation period. The assessment of oxidative stress in blood was done through estimations of malondialdehyde (MDA), end product of lipid peroxidation. No changes (P>0.05) in MDA concentrations were manifested at any of the days measured during lactation and gestation in sows of all the groups. Similarly, there was no effect of flaxseed treatment on superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in all sows at any of the days measured during lactation period (P>0.05) as well as during gestation period (days 30-90). In the current farrowing, the piglets exhibited a steady increase (P<0.05) in bodyweight as well as weight gain in all groups from day 0 until day 28 of lactation. No effect (P>0.05) of flaxseed fed to sows on litter weight and weight gain was noticed until day 21 of lactation, However, the effect of treatment was evinced on day 28 of lactation compared to control group. In conclusion, flaxseed supplementation had no impact on MDA and SOD concentrations in sows; nevertheless a treatment effect was noticed on body weight and weight gain in piglets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]