Journal of animal science最新文献

{"title":"In Vitro Fermentation Characteristics of Acacia Fiber Using Feline Fecal Inoculum.","authors":"Vanessa M De La Guardia Hidrogo, Patricia M Oba, Olivia R Swanson, Laura L Bauer, Elena Vinay, John F Menton, Mathieu Millette, Melissa R Kelly, Ryan N Dilger, Kelly S Swanson","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf179","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf179","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Acacia fiber is a soluble fiber often used as a processing aid in pet foods. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the fermentation characteristics of acacia fiber, inulin, pectin (positive control), and cellulose (negative control) using an in vitro fermentation system and feline fecal inoculum. Triplicate samples of each fiber were fermented for 0, 6, 12, and 18 h, with short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), pH, and microbiota measured at each time point. Blank-corrected data were analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX of SAS, with significance set at P≤0.05. Significant (P<0.01) fiber×time interactions were observed for pH change, gas and SCFA production, and microbiota populations. Pectin and inulin had greater (P<0.01) gas production than acacia fiber and cellulose. Inulin had the greatest pH reduction, followed by pectin, both of which had greater pH reductions (P<0.01) than acacia fiber and cellulose. Acacia fiber had a small reduction in pH, being lower than cellulose after 12 h. Total SCFA production, including acetate, propionate, and butyrate, was higher (P<0.01) in pectin and inulin than acacia fiber and cellulose. However, acacia fiber had greater (P<0.01) total SCFA, acetate, and propionate production than cellulose after 12 h. Bacterial alpha diversity metrics increased (P<0.01) during acacia fiber fermentation and decreased (P<0.01) during inulin and pectin fermentation. Bacterial beta diversity shifted over time and showed separate clustering of bacterial communities among the different fiber substrates evaluated. The relative abundances of predominant (% sequences > 1%) bacterial genera were affected by significant fiber×time interactions. Specifically, acacia fiber had a greater (P<0.01) increase in Bacteroides, Blautia, and Faecalibacterium than other fibers. Inulin had a greater (P<0.01) increase in Collinsella, Prevotella, Megamonas, Holdemanella, Blautia and Faecalibacterium, whereas pectin had a greater (P<0.01) increase of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Phascolarctobacterium, and Succinivibrio. These results suggest that acacia fiber is moderately fermentable, resulting in low gas and SCFA production, greater bacterial diversity, and microbiota shifts. Although positive responses were observed in vitro, research in live animals is necessary to confirm potential benefits in felines.</p>","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144127450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Developing a regression equation model to predict individual water intake in Holstein growing cattle using reticulorumen temperature.","authors":"Taizhong Liu,Jae-Sung Lee,Jong-Hwan Hyun,Xue-Cheng Jin,Hong-Gu Lee","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf124","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf124","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this study was to develop an equation model for predicting individual water intake (WI) in Holstein growing cattle by calculating the area under the curve (AUC) incorporating reticulorumen temperature from a wireless bolus sensor. A total of 21 female Holstein growing cattle aged 11.3 ± 2.06 months and weighing 346 ± 5.2 kg were used in this study. Bolus sensors were fitted to all animals, and water was given at 09:00 am, 01:00 pm, and 05:00 pm at a temperature of 20 ± 1.4°C for 1 hour. The actual WI was recorded by weighing the volume of residual water in the bucket each time the animals drank water. The accuracy of the regression equation model was evaluated by mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) analysis. In study 1, prior to conducting an evaluation of the correlation between AUC and the actual WI, the determination of the end-temperature point on the 30 graphs generated by the reticulorumen temperature change in response to the WI behavior of three cattle was necessary. We observed that a recovery rate of 98% compared to the start-temperature point was the optimal point with a goodness-of-fit R2 of 0.8067. In study 2, considering that the reticulorumen temperature may be influenced by factors of feeding and space conditions, the coefficient determination in the regression between AUC and actual WI was performed using twelve cattle divided into four groups according to whether they were restricted or unrestricted in feed and space. The investigation revealed no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the change of reticulorumen temperature after WI in cattle housed in either free or confined feed and space. Based on these data, we established a regression equation model to forecast WI by combining AUC and actual WI (forecasted WI = 0.0632 x AUC + 3.8936, R2 = 0.7473, MAPE = 26.01%). In order to confirm the regression equation model for forecasting WI, the MAPE was introduced to assess the accuracy of the forecasted WI compared to the actual WI, yielding a value of 75.39% (study 3). In conclusion, the bolus sensor can be used to measure reticulorumen temperature changes in response to water consumption for predicting individual WI in Holstein growing cattle and monitoring ruminant health.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144122190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Description of metabolic differences between castrated males and intact gilts obtained from high-throughput metabolomics of porcine plasma.","authors":"Samuele Bovo,Matteo Bolner,Giuseppina Schiavo,Giuliano Galimberti,Francesca Bertolini,Stefania Dall'Olio,Anisa Ribani,Paolo Zambonelli,Maurizio Gallo,Luca Fontanesi","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf178","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf178","url":null,"abstract":"Surgically castrated male pigs, which are commonly produced in pork production systems, have slightly lower production efficiency, compared to intact female pigs (gilts). This is mainly due to an unfavorable feed conversion rate and fatter carcasses. These differences influenced by physiological and genetic factors can be identified through metabolomics, which describes metabolic profiles. In this study, we used untargeted metabolomics to analyze the plasma of 694 Italian Large White pigs (228 castrated males and 466 intact gilts), sampled at slaughter. The metabolomic profiles included 731 metabolites covering 98 sub-pathways. The raw metabolomic data were cleaned and imputed using Multivariate Imputation by Chained Equations. The Boruta algorithm was then employed to identify metabolites that have different concentrations between castrated males and intact gilts. To address the random nature of feature selection, multiple Boruta runs were generated, nested within a 10-fold cross validation, resulting in 1,250 Boruta datasets. These datasets helped identify 40 informative metabolites, with a reduced core of 15 metabolites consistently confirmed across all runs. Their calculated random forest Out-Of-Bag (OOB) error was 0.25 and 0.27, respectively. The relevance, ranking and predictive ability of each selected metabolite were determined based on the Mean Decrease Gini (MDG) and the area under the curve (AUC) of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, with MDG values of 0.024±0.007 and 0.030±0.009 and AUC values of 0.62±0.04 and 0.65±0.03 for the two metabolite sets, respectively. Of the 40 selected metabolites, 60% had higher concentrations in castrated males than in intact gilts, while in the 15 metabolites set, this percentage was 80%. Network and biological pathways analyses indicated that the selected metabolites were primarily amino acids and lipids, many of which belonged to their respective sub-pathways, suggesting minimal biological differences between castrated males and intact gilts. These findings support previous results obtained using a targeted metabolomic platform. This study represents the largest investigation to date on the pig sex metabolome, providing essential biological insights that could inform precise husbandry and feeding strategies in pigs, taking into consideration the castration status of the males.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144122191","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of an abrupt change from dry to canned diet on digestive function and gut microbiota in dogs.","authors":"Marta Maturana,Lorena Castillejos,Achraf Adib Lesaux,Susana M Martin-Orue","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf143","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf143","url":null,"abstract":"Abrupt changes of diet can result in gastrointestinal upset in dogs but, although undesirable in households, they might represent a research tool to induce a mild state of transitory dysbiosis. Therefore, this type of dietary intervention could serve as a model for assessing the effect of feed additives aimed at promoting a more resilient gut ecosystem. In the current study, we examined the effects of an abrupt dietary change by assessing its impact on coefficients of apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of macronutrients, fecal characteristics, and fecal microbiota composition and metabolites of healthy dogs. A total of 24 adult Beagles were initially fed an extruded dry kibble (DRY) for 29 days, with proportions (%) of protein, fat, and carbohydrates, on a dry matter basis, of 26/12/52, respectively. Subsequently, they were abruptly switched to a canned diet (WET), with the corresponding proportions of 43/29/16, and stayed with that diet for 29 days more. This dietary intervention induced increases in the ATTD of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, and gross energy, while the nitrogen-free extract ATTD and the metabolizable energy of the diet decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Regarding fecal quality, diet change resulted in wetter and less formed feces. The switch led to a marked decrease in Turicibacter and Lactobacillus abundance, and increases in Fusobacterium, Peptacetobacter hiranonis, Escherichia coli, and Clostridium perfringens (P < 0.001), accompanied by transient increases of the dysbiosis index, and plasma immunoglobulin A and C-reactive protein concentrations (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the challenge modified the concentration and profile of fecal short-chain fatty acids (P < 0.01) and increased the concentration of fecal ammonia (P < 0.05). It also had a relevant impact on fecal polyamines, with lower concentrations observed in dogs fed the WET diet (P < 0.001), while monoamines such as indole and indole-3-acetic acid increased (P < 0.05). Some of the parameters studied continued to evolve towards the end of the trial, suggesting an adaptative process within the microbiota, after the dietary shift. These findings underscore the validity of our dietary model for inducing changes in the intestinal ecosystem and suggest ongoing adaptive processes. In conclusion, this model offers potential for evaluating the efficacy of additives in fostering a resilient microbiota, thereby promoting strategies to enhance canine digestive health.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144122094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"PSVI-17 Morphological alterations on the duodenum and skeletal muscle of the offspring of sows supplemented with FLAVORAD RP® during gestation","authors":"Tulio Cezar Caiafa de Alkmim, Jonathas Medeiros de Almeida, Abner Lacerda Shinkawa, Letícia Pinheiro Moreira, João Vitor Lopes Ferreira, Dayanne Kelly Oliveira Pires, Isadora Maria Sátiro de Oliveira, Francisco Alves Pereira, Clarice Speridião Silva Neta, Felipe Norberto Alves Ferreira, Anália Maria Ribeiro da Silva, Fabrício Almeida de Santos, Fernanda Radicchi Campos Lobato de Almeida","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf102.352","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf102.352","url":null,"abstract":"Sows nutritional management during gestation is a crucial factor, which influences offspring postnatal performance. Alternative nutritional supplements, such as functional amino acids, may be offered to gestating sows to ensure optimal embryonic and fetal development. Thus, studying the effects of such supplementation on the performance of litters is essential, particularly in commercially relevant organs such as the skeletal muscle, which will give rise to meat, and small intestine (SI), crucial for digestion and nutrients absorption. This study aimed to investigate morphological alterations on the duodenum (DD) and semitendinosus muscle (ST) from offspring of sows supplemented with FLAVORAD RP® (Agroceres Multimix, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil), which is an immunomodulatory functional amino acids concentrate, during gestation. Twenty-eight females (parities range: 1st-7th) were randomly and proportionally distributed among three treatments: T1 - sows receiving a control diet, with no supplementation, throughout gestation (n=9); T2 - sows receiving a control diet + supplementation (40g/sow) until the 60th gestational day (n=9); T3 - sows receiving a control diet + supplementation (40g/sow) throughout gestation (n=10). Supplementation was offered on top from the first insemination until the 60th (T2) or 112nd (T3) day of gestation. Ten male piglets from each treatment were euthanized at 25 and 145 days of age. The ST and SI were dissected and weighted, and the SI length was also recorded. Fragments of ST and DD were collected, fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and processed to obtain histological slides for further histomorphometrical analysis. Data was analyzed as a complete randomized design using SAS software (2001) through analysis of variance. At 25 days, no effects of supplementation were observed for ST or SI weight. However, T3 animals showed a higher proportion of myofiber nuclei and lower proportion of connective tissue than T1, and both T2 and T3 exhibited higher proportion of blood vessels (P&amp;lt; 0.05) (Table 1). Also, all the DD histological parameters and SI length were higher in T2 and T3 (P&amp;lt; 0.05). At 145 days, no effects of supplementation were observed for SI weight and length and DD histology. However, T2 and T3 showed higher ST weight and sarcoplasm proportion (P&amp;lt; 0.05) (Table 1). Moreover, T3 presented higher proportion of blood vessels and T2, higher proportion of myofiber nuclei (P&amp;lt; 0.01), and T1 exhibited higher proportion of adipocytes (P&amp;lt; 0.01). Taken together, the results demonstrate the benefits of supplementing gestating sows with FLAVORAD RP® related to offspring skeletal muscle structural composition, which possibly can be associated to meat quality, and on duodenal morphology, possibly improving nutrients absorption.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"56 77 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144104577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"214 In utero heat stress alters testis development and circulating cytokines profiles in pre-pubertal boars","authors":"Brooke E McAnally, MaryKate H Byrd, Jacob Musa, Luiz F Brito, Jay S Johnson, Amy T Desaulniers","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf102.051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf102.051","url":null,"abstract":"In utero heat stress (IUHS) reduces boar semen quality and represents an emerging threat to swine reproductive efficiency. However, the cellular/molecular mechanisms driving this effect are poorly characterized. Additionally, genomic selection for improved heat tolerance may be a novel IUHS mitigation strategy. The study objective was to compare cytokine profiles, anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) concentrations, and testis composition in pre-pubertal boars gestated in IUHS or in utero thermoneutral (IUTN) conditions from dams divergently selected for greater heat tolerance (TOL) or sensitivity (SEN), resulting in four treatment combinations (IUHS+SEN, IUHS+TOL, IUTN+SEN, IUTN+TOL). Dams were exposed to either thermoneutral (21.46 ± 2.92 °C) or cyclic heat stress (26-36 ºC) conditions from d6.3±0.9 to d65.3±0.9 of gestation. Thereafter, dams remained in thermoneutral conditions. After birth, a subset of boars (IUHS+SEN, n=7; IUHS+TOL, n=8; IUTN+SEN, n=8; IUTN+TOL, n=10) were castrated at d2 of age. Testes were trimmed, weighed, and fixed for histological analyses. Additional animals (IUHS+SEN, n=9; IUHS+TOL, n=9-10; IUTN+SEN, n=9; IUTN+TOL, n=9-11) remained intact, and blood samples were collected at d21 (weaning) and d70 of age for cytokine and AMH analyses. Testis weight was increased (P&amp;lt; 0.05) in IUTN+SEN boars compared to all other treatments, suggesting an effect on Sertoli cells. For testis histology, IUTN+TOL boars had a greater number of seminiferous tubules/field (P&amp;lt; 0.05) compared with IUHS+SEN and IUTN+SEN boars. Additionally, seminiferous tubule number/field was increased (P=0.05) in testes of IUHS+TOL boars compared with IUHS+SEN boars. Average seminiferous tubule area tended to be greater (P=0.07) in IUHS+TOL boars compared with IUTN+TOL boars. There was a tendency for IUTN+SEN boars to have greater (P=0.10) AMH (Sertoli cell product) concentrations versus IUHS+TOL boars at d70. Regarding cytokines, only interferon (IFN)-g differed between treatments at weaning; specifically, IUHS+SEN boars had 2-fold greater concentrations than IUTN+SEN boars (P=0.05), suggesting that IUHS promotes systemic inflammation in the neonatal boar. Likewise, IUHS+SEN boars tended (P=0.06) to have 2-fold elevated concentrations of IFNg compared to IUTN+TOL boars at weaning. Interestingly, numerous cytokines differed based upon treatment at d70. Both interleukin (IL)-2 (P=0.05) and IL-18 (P=0.05) concentrations were elevated in the IUHS+TOL treatment compared to IUTN+SEN. Furthermore, IUHS+TOL boars had 10-fold greater (P=0.05) IL-2 concentrations than IUHS+SEN boars. Other cytokines which tended (P&amp;lt; 0.10) to be greater in IUHS+TOL compared with IUTN+SEN boars included: IL-1a, IL-4, and IL-10. When comparing IUHS+TOL boars to IUHS+SEN boars, tendencies (P&amp;lt; 0.10) were detected for IL-10 (6-fold greater in IUHS+TOL) and IL-18 (4-fold greater in IUHS+TOL). These findings indicate that IUHS disrupts early testis development and promotes a","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144104645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"220 Effects of using soybean meal, canola meal, and corn distillers dried grains with solubles on net energy, greenhouse gas emission, and nitrogen balance in group-housed pigs","authors":"Jimena A Ibagon, Su A Lee, Hans H Stein","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf102.054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf102.054","url":null,"abstract":"The objective was to test the null hypothesis that there are no differences in net energy (NE), greenhouse gas emission, and N balance in pigs fed diets containing soybean meal (SBM), canola meal (CM), and corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). Three dies contained corn and one of the three feed ingredients (i.e., SBM, CM, or DDGS). A total of 24 growing pigs (initial weight = 46.84 ± 2.25 kg) were allotted to 6 chambers with 4 pigs per chamber. The 6 chambers were then allotted to the three diets using a repeated 3 Í 3 Latin square design with 3 periods. Pigs had free access to water and feed. Feces and urine samples were quantitatively collected during the collection period, and O2 consumption, CO2 and CH4 productions, and urine N excretion were measured during collection and fasting periods. Using Proc MIXED of SAS, the statistical model included diet as fixed variable and square, chamber, and period as random variables. Pairwise comparisons were used to separate the means. Results indicated that the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter and gross energy were greater (P &amp;lt; 0.05) in SBM diet compared with CM and DDGS diets (Table 1). Concentrations of NE were not different between DDGS and SBM diets, but were greater (P &amp;lt; 0.05) compared with the CM diet. Daily O2 consumption per kg gain was greater (P &amp;lt; 0.05) and CO2 production per kg gain tended to be greater (P &amp;lt; 0.10) in pigs fed the CM diet compared with pigs fed the SBM or DDGS diets. However, production of CH4 did not differ among the three diets. Intake of N and total N excretion were not different among pigs fed the three diets, but the ATTD of N and absorbed N were greater (P &amp;lt; 0.05) and retained N (g/d) tended to be greater (P &amp;lt; 0.10) for pigs fed the SBM diet compared with the CM or DDGS diets. Retention of N (% of intake) did not differ among the three diets. Retention of N (% of absorbed) was not different between SBM and CM diets or between CM and DDGS diets, but was less (P &amp;lt; 0.05) in the SBM diet than in the DDGS diet. In conclusion, use of SBM or DDGS increased NE in corn-based diets compared with CM fed to group-housed pigs. Per kg gain, pigs produced less greenhouse gas when fed SBM or DDGS diets than when fed the CM diet. Pigs fed the diet containing SBM had greater absorbed and retained N (g/d) compared with those fed diets containing CM or DDGS.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144104557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"277 Management of gilts to maximize lifetime productivity","authors":"Billy Flowers","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf102.273","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf102.273","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of this presentation is to review gilt characteristics associated with enhanced lifetime productivity and discuss their possible incorporation into management programs. The last 40 days of gestation is a crucial period of reproductive organ development. As a result, there is a positive relationship between birthweight and adult reproductive performance with most studies reporting decreased removal rates and increased pigs weaned per litter when birthweight was greater than 1.3 kg. Unfortunately, nutritional strategies for improving birthweight have been inconsistent. However, its use as a selection criterion has shown promise for the early removal of sub-fertile gilts. Colostrum contains bioactive compounds that stimulate ovarian and uterine development. Significant positive correlations exist between circulating immunoglobulins in 1-day old gilts and lifetime productivity. Gilts with the highest levels reached puberty 20 days earlier and weaned 1.4 more pigs over four parities compared with those with the lowest levels. Therefore, strategic split-suckling and cross-fostering merit consideration for enhancing colostrum intake. Weaning weight is also positively correlated with sow longevity and several studies have reported that increased pre-weaning growth can partially offset some of the negative consequences of low birthweights. Litter size often exceeds numbers of functional teats for hyper-prolific sows so pre-weaning supplemental feeding programs may prove beneficial in this situation. Porcine follicles require 120 days to reach ovulatory competence which means the cohort of follicles responsible for puberty begins to develop when gilts are 40 to 50 days of age. During this period, nutritional programs designed to produce gilts weighing between 115 and 140 kg at first breeding have received the most attention. In a large commercial system, feeding grower and finisher diets with lysine-to-energy ratios less than 2.8 and 2.1, respectively, delayed puberty and required increased use of P.G.600 to achieve adequate numbers of bred gilts within this weight range. In conclusion, use of birthweight as an early selection criterion, strategies that enhance colostrum consumption and pre-weaning growth, and feeding programs that achieve planned post-weaning growth have potential for enhancing gilt development and maximizing their lifetime productivity.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"129 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144104562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"96 An evaluation of soybean meal inclusion rate and replacement of Dried Distillers Grains and Solubles (DDGS) in pigs fed from wean to finish","authors":"Joseph Halbur, Jessica Lira da Silva, Ryan S Samuel, Robert C Thaler, Eric M Weaver","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf102.130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf102.130","url":null,"abstract":"Replacement of DDGS with soybean meal (SBM) and soy hulls at various inclusion rates may effect the performance and nutrient output of manure in wean-to-market pigs. The protein and nutrient composition of SBM combined with soy hulls diets may be better utilized by pigs when compared to DDGS-containing diets. The increased demand for Midwest-grown soybeans, driven by new soybean crushing plants, may reduce SBM costs, making it a more affordable feed ingredient. The objective is to evaluate the effects on performance and manure output of inclusion levels of SBM as a replacer for DDGS in wean to finish pigs. A total of 566 pigs (PIC X Terminal Duroc, 7.9 kg, 6 weeks of age) were used in two groups in separate partially slatted floor, environmentally controlled rooms. Individual pig body weights (BW) were measured along with average daily feed intake (ADFI) every two weeks for the first 12 weeks, and every three weeks for the last 6 weeks. The treatment formulations designed to value SBM and soy hulls in place of DDGS. The diets included two levels of DDGS and two SBM with soybean hulls diets, which replaced DDGS at comparable inclusion levels: high (40%) and low (20%). All diets were formulated to meet or exceed NRC levels; SID lysine and net energy (NE) levels were kept consistent across the four diets. NE estimates for SBM and DDGS were 2,502 and 2,343 Kcal/kg, respectively. The four diets were allotted to 40 pens (20 pens/room, 5 pens/diet/room) with 14 pigs per pen in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Data were combined from each room and analyzed as a RCBD with pens as the experimental unit, dietary treatment as the main effect and blocked by room. Average daily gain (ADG) was unaffected by treatment for all phases of growth (P &amp;gt; 0.10). For wean-to-market: gain to feed (GF) was significantly lower for the DDGS diets compared to the SBM diets (P &amp;lt; 0.05). ADFI was significantly higher in the DDGS diets than in the SBM diets (P &amp;lt; 0.05); however, there was a tendency for a difference between the low DDGS diet and the low SBM diet (P &amp;lt; 0.10). From week 0 to week 6, feed conversion improved in pigs fed high SBM diets relative to high DDGS diets (P &amp;lt; 0.05). From week 15 to week 18, both high and low DDGS diets significantly increased ADFI when compared to SBM diets (P &amp;lt; 0.05). Diets containing SBM and hulls improved feed conversion by 6% when compared to diets with DDGS from week 0 to week 18. In conclusion, the use of SBM and hulls in swine diets improves feed efficiency when compared to diets containing equal levels of DDGS.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"215 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144104563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"303 Award Talk: Effects of L-glutamate and L-aspartate supplementation on growth performance, diarrhea severity, immune responses, intestinal barrier integrity of weaned piglets challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli F18","authors":"Supatirada Wongchanla, Sangwoo Park, Kwangwook Kim, Shuhan Sun, Xunde Li, Yanhong Liu","doi":"10.1093/jas/skaf102.083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf102.083","url":null,"abstract":"L-glutamate (Glu) and L-aspartate (Asp) play critical roles in cellular metabolism and immune regulation in pigs. This study investigated the effects of Glu and Asp supplementation on growth performance, immune responses, and intestinal integrity in weaned piglets challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) F18. Forty-nine weaned pigs (8.18 ± 1.54 kg BW) were randomly assigned to one of seven treatments (n = 7): a negative control (NC) and a positive control (PC) fed a control diet, and five groups supplemented with 1% or 2% Glu, 1% or 2% Asp, or 50 mg/kg Carbadox. All pigs, except NC, were orally challenged with F18 ETEC (1010 CFU/dose/day) for three consecutive days after 7 days adaptation. The study lasted 14 additional days post-inoculation (PI). Body weights, feed consumption, and fecal scores were recorded throughout the study. Fecal and blood samples were collected at specific time points for bacterial shedding analysis through bacterial culture and blood profile analysis via complete blood cell count, respectively. Intestinal mucosa from the jejunum and ileum was collected on d 14 PI for cytokine and tight junction protein expression analysis via quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Data were analyzed using ANOVA in PROC MIXED of SAS. Frequency of diarrhea was analyzed by Chi-square. Compared with PC, pigs fed 1% Glu or 2% Asp had improved (P &amp;lt; 0.05) average daily gain and gain-to-feed ratio during the first two weeks post-weaning. Additionally, 1% or 2% Asp supplementation reduced (P &amp;lt; 0.05) diarrhea severity compared with PC. 1% Asp supplementation also increased (P &amp;lt; 0.05) duodenal villi height and ileal villi width in pigs than Carbadox. Moreover, 1% Glu reduced (P &amp;lt; 0.05) fecal shedding of β- hemolytic bacteria compared with PC on d 14 PI and decreased (P &amp;lt; 0.05) neutrophil-to- lymphocyte ratio on d 2 and d 5 PI, showing effects comparable to Carbadox. Furthermore, 1% Glu or 2% Asp upregulated (P &amp;lt; 0.05) ileal IL-12 compared with PC and Carbadox, while exhibited trends in IFN-γ expression similar to Carbadox. Supplementing 1% Glu upregulated (P &amp;lt; 0.05) jejunal IL-17A and IL-22 expression compared with NC and Carbadox. Furthermore, 2% Asp pigs had lower (P &amp;lt; 0.05) jejunal IL-6 than PC. Interestingly, 2% Asp supplementation decreased (P &amp;lt; 0.05) jejunal CLDN-1, while increased (P &amp;lt; 0.05) ileal CLDN-1 compared with NC. Compared with PC, 1% Asp upregulated (P &amp;lt; 0.05) ileal OCDN and ZO-1. In conclusion, Glu or Asp supplementation enhanced growth performance and disease resistance in weaned pigs challenged with ETEC.","PeriodicalId":14895,"journal":{"name":"Journal of animal science","volume":"55 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144104568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}