Effects of a maternal inflammation challenge on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of growing-finishing pigs

Johnson, Danielle Claire

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/117810 Copy

Description

Title

Effects of a maternal inflammation challenge on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of growing-finishing pigs

Author(s)

Johnson, Danielle Claire

Issue Date

2022-12-07

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Dilger , Anna

Committee Member(s)

• Dilger, Ryan
• Harsh, Bailey

Department of Study

Animal Sciences

Discipline

Animal Sciences

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• maternal inflammation
• pigs
• meat quality
• growth performance

Abstract

Maternal inflammation has been associated with the downregulation of myocyte differentiation and may influence growth potential in utero. However, the influence of maternal inflammation as a result of innate immune activation on long term growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of the offspring has received little attention. Therefore, the objective was to determine the effects of mid-gestational maternal inflammation in pregnant gilts on growth, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of offspring. Pregnant gilts were administered either lipopolysaccharide (LPS; n=7) or saline (CON, n=7) from day 70-84 of gestation. LPS gilts received an intravenous injection of reconstituted LPS every other day with the beginning dose being 10 μg/kg BW LPS and subsequent doses increasing by 12%, while CON gilts received intravenous injections of comparable volumes of saline. Gilts farrowed naturally, and the 2 barrows and 2 gilts weighing closest to the litter average at weaning (21 d of age) were selected. Littermates were allotted to pens and remained together throughout the trial. At d 66 of age, barrows and gilts began a 3-phase feeding regimen designed to meet or exceed nutrient requirements for growing-finishing pigs. Pigs were weighed on d 0, 35, 70, and 105 of this feeding trial to determine growth performance. On d 106, pigs were slaughtered under university conditions. Ending live weight (ELW), hot carcass weight (HCW), and dressing percentage were determined. The following day, the left side of carcasses were weighed and fabricated into primal, subprimal, and retail cuts and weighed to determine carcass cutting yields. The semitendinosus was bisected perpendicular the orientation of muscle fibers, frozen in nitrogen-cooled methyl butane before being stored for histology. Fresh belly characteristics and loin quality was measured, then a total of 2 chops were collected for Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and approximate analysis. Growth data were analyzed as a one-way ANOVA using the MIXED procedure of SAS with pen as the experimental unit. Carcass characteristics, cutting yields, and meat quality data were analyzed as a two-way ANOVA with fixed effects of treatment and sex using pig as the experimental unit. Least square means were separated using the probability of differences (PDIFF). Cook loss and WBSF data were analyzed as a two-way ANOVA using the MIXED procedure in SAS as described above with cooking day included as a random variable. Means were considered significant at P ≤ 0.05 and trends were considered at 0.05 ≤ P ≤ 0.10. No differences (P ≥ 0.13) between LPS and CON pigs were observed for growth performance in phases 1, 2, 3, or overall (d 0-105) performance with the exception of overall G:F was reduced from 0.36 in CON pigs to 0.38 in LPS pigs (P = 0.03). There was a tendency for carcass yield to be reduced (P = 0.06) 0.82 units LPS pigs compared with CON pigs. Additionally, loin muscle area (LMA) tended to be reduced (P = 0.10) 2.27 cm2 in LPS compared with CON pigs. Barrows had 4.66 kg heavier HCW (P = 0.04) and 0.33 cm greater (P = 0.01) back fat depth when compared to gilts. Gilts had a 1.37% greater (P < 0.01) standardized fat free lean (SFFL) compared with barrows. Loin chop quality traits including instrumental color, subjective color, marbling, firmness, pH, and drip loss and were not different (P ≥ 0.09) between LPS and CON pigs. Fresh belly characteristics were not different (P ≥ 0.22) between LPS and CON pigs. Moreover, barrows had thicker (P = 0.01) bellies compared with gilts. There were no differences in primal and subprimal weights, except for LPS pigs tended to have a reduction (P ≥ 0.07) in loin weights compared with CON pigs. Furthermore, LPS pigs had no differences (P ≥ 0.25) in muscle fiber composition or size, however LPS pigs tended (P = 0.10) to have a 13% decrease in estimated muscle fibers compared with CON pigs. Pigs born to dams experiencing mid-gestational inflammation did not exhibit reduced meat quality, growth performance or carcass yields. Ultimately, these findings help producers better understand the impact maternal inflammation has on offspring growth and productivity to best optimize production protocols to improve pig efficiency.

Graduation Semester

2022-12

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2022 Danielle Johnson

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