A Methodology to Quantify Resilience in Growing Pigs
There is a growing concern about the genetic determinism of resilience and its possible implementation in breeding programs. The objective of our study was to elaborate novel resilience indicators in growing pigs based on the deviation from the expected growth curve and the increment of the acute-ph...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/10/2970 |
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| author | Houda Laghouaouta Ramona N. Pena Roger Ros-Freixedes Josep Reixach Marta Díaz Joan Estany Ramon Armengol Anna Bassols Lorenzo Fraile |
| author_facet | Houda Laghouaouta Ramona N. Pena Roger Ros-Freixedes Josep Reixach Marta Díaz Joan Estany Ramon Armengol Anna Bassols Lorenzo Fraile |
| author_sort | Houda Laghouaouta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is a growing concern about the genetic determinism of resilience and its possible implementation in breeding programs. The objective of our study was to elaborate novel resilience indicators in growing pigs based on the deviation from the expected growth curve and the increment of the acute-phase protein haptoglobin (HP) after applying a common vaccine. A total of 445 pigs were vaccinated with an attenuated Aujeszky vaccine at 12 weeks of age. Deviation from the expected body weight (ΔBW) given the growth curve of unvaccinated pigs at 28 days post-vaccination (DPV) and the increment of HP at 4 DPV (ΔHP) were suggested as resilience indicators. Challenged pigs that maintained their productivity and had a minor activation of HP were deemed resilient, whereas pigs that had low ∆BW values and a high activation of HP were deemed susceptible. Pigs were also classified based on ∆BW and ∆HP relative to the expected BW at 28 DPV and to the basal level of HP, respectively. The concordance was high between both methods, indicating that ΔBW and ΔHP are not sensitive to the animal’s expected BW nor the basal level of HP. The heritability estimates were moderate for ∆BW (0.33) and low-to-moderate for ∆HP (0.16). Our study suggests ΔBW and ΔHP as novel resilience indicators in pigs. The suggested indicators capture different aspects of resilience, are easy to measure, and are genetically controlled. Thus, they may be improved through selective breeding. Further analyses are needed to validate our findings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:46:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-93fbf442277841cf9dd37498854550fe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:46:28Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-93fbf442277841cf9dd37498854550fe2023-11-22T17:12:05ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-10-011110297010.3390/ani11102970A Methodology to Quantify Resilience in Growing PigsHouda Laghouaouta0Ramona N. Pena1Roger Ros-Freixedes2Josep Reixach3Marta Díaz4Joan Estany5Ramon Armengol6Anna Bassols7Lorenzo Fraile8Agrotecnio-CERCA Center, Department of Animal Science, University of Lleida, 25198 Lleida, SpainAgrotecnio-CERCA Center, Department of Animal Science, University of Lleida, 25198 Lleida, SpainAgrotecnio-CERCA Center, Department of Animal Science, University of Lleida, 25198 Lleida, SpainSelección Batallé SA, 17421 Riudarenes, SpainSelección Batallé SA, 17421 Riudarenes, SpainAgrotecnio-CERCA Center, Department of Animal Science, University of Lleida, 25198 Lleida, SpainAgrotecnio-CERCA Center, Department of Animal Science, University of Lleida, 25198 Lleida, SpainDepartament de Bioquímica, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, SpainAgrotecnio-CERCA Center, Department of Animal Science, University of Lleida, 25198 Lleida, SpainThere is a growing concern about the genetic determinism of resilience and its possible implementation in breeding programs. The objective of our study was to elaborate novel resilience indicators in growing pigs based on the deviation from the expected growth curve and the increment of the acute-phase protein haptoglobin (HP) after applying a common vaccine. A total of 445 pigs were vaccinated with an attenuated Aujeszky vaccine at 12 weeks of age. Deviation from the expected body weight (ΔBW) given the growth curve of unvaccinated pigs at 28 days post-vaccination (DPV) and the increment of HP at 4 DPV (ΔHP) were suggested as resilience indicators. Challenged pigs that maintained their productivity and had a minor activation of HP were deemed resilient, whereas pigs that had low ∆BW values and a high activation of HP were deemed susceptible. Pigs were also classified based on ∆BW and ∆HP relative to the expected BW at 28 DPV and to the basal level of HP, respectively. The concordance was high between both methods, indicating that ΔBW and ΔHP are not sensitive to the animal’s expected BW nor the basal level of HP. The heritability estimates were moderate for ∆BW (0.33) and low-to-moderate for ∆HP (0.16). Our study suggests ΔBW and ΔHP as novel resilience indicators in pigs. The suggested indicators capture different aspects of resilience, are easy to measure, and are genetically controlled. Thus, they may be improved through selective breeding. Further analyses are needed to validate our findings.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/10/2970body weighthaptoglobinpigsresilience indicatorsvaccine challenge |
| spellingShingle | Houda Laghouaouta Ramona N. Pena Roger Ros-Freixedes Josep Reixach Marta Díaz Joan Estany Ramon Armengol Anna Bassols Lorenzo Fraile A Methodology to Quantify Resilience in Growing Pigs Animals body weight haptoglobin pigs resilience indicators vaccine challenge |
| title | A Methodology to Quantify Resilience in Growing Pigs |
| title_full | A Methodology to Quantify Resilience in Growing Pigs |
| title_fullStr | A Methodology to Quantify Resilience in Growing Pigs |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Methodology to Quantify Resilience in Growing Pigs |
| title_short | A Methodology to Quantify Resilience in Growing Pigs |
| title_sort | methodology to quantify resilience in growing pigs |
| topic | body weight haptoglobin pigs resilience indicators vaccine challenge |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/10/2970 |
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