Article
Genetics & Heredity
Maria Usala, Nicolo Pietro Paolo Macciotta, Matteo Bergamaschi, Christian Maltecca, Justin Fix, Clint Schwab, Caleb Shull, Francesco Tiezzi
Summary: The study found significant environmental influences on the loin depth, backfat depth, and carcass growth of crossbred pigs, with genetic control of heat tolerance and genotype by environment interaction detected. The impact of heat stress and genotype by environment interaction varied across traits, with backfat depth showing higher heritability under comfortable conditions. The study highlights the importance of genetic resilience and performance under changing environmental conditions in swine.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Kei Terada, Toshiyuki Ohtani, Shinichiro Ogawa, Hiroyuki Hirooka
Summary: By crossbreeding Jinhua and Duroc pigs, a new composite breed with the beneficial characteristics of both breeds can be developed. Through analyzing the phenotypic data of Jinhua, Duroc, and their crossbred pigs, the crossbreeding parameters and genetic parameters can be estimated. These results can help with genetic improvement to produce a new composite breed with good meat quality and productivity, meeting the requirements of the Japanese market.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL BREEDING AND GENETICS
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Piush Khanal, Christian Maltecca, Clint Schwab, Justin Fix, Francesco Tiezzi
Summary: The impact of gut microbiome composition on meat quality and carcass composition traits of pigs varied over different production stages, with a more prominent contribution observed for carcass composition traits. Microbiability estimates were greater for carcass composition traits than meat quality traits, showing high microbial correlations among traits related to fat deposition. Better understanding of microbial composition could aid the improvement of complex traits in swine, particularly carcass composition traits.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL BREEDING AND GENETICS
(2021)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Zhanwei Zhuang, Jie Wu, Cineng Xu, Donglin Ruan, Yibin Qiu, Shenping Zhou, Rongrong Ding, Jianping Quan, Ming Yang, Enqin Zheng, Zhenfang Wu, Jie Yang
Summary: The genetic architecture of pork meat quality traits is still unclear. Genome-wide association studies identified SNPs and genes associated with meat pH and meat color in crossbred pigs. A significant quantitative trait locus (QTL) on SSC15, along with the candidate gene TNS1, was found to be associated with meat pH. Two newly identified SNPs in the TTLL4 gene showed the highest phenotypic variance for meat pH within this QTL.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Yongjie Wang, Zhisheng Wang, Rui Hu, Quanhui Peng, Bai Xue, Lizhi Wang
Summary: The study compared the growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of Xuanhan yellow cattle, Simmental crossbreed cattle, and cattle-yak. Simmental crossbreeds showed better growth performance and carcass characteristics, while cattle-yaks had higher meat color values and protein content. Xuanhan yellow cattle exhibited better water holding capacity and tenderness in the meat.
JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Bismarck Santiago, Welder Baldassini, Otavio Machado Neto, Luis Artur Chardulo, Rodrigo Torres, Guilherme Pereira, Rogerio Curi, Marcos Roberto Chiaratti, Pedro Padilha, Laura Alessandroni, Mohammed Gagaoua
Summary: This study investigated the skeletal muscle proteome of crossbred bulls and steers to explain the differences in carcass and meat quality traits. The results showed that steers had better meat quality, while bulls had higher carcass fatness. The proteomic analysis revealed differences in protein expression related to energy metabolism, catabolic processes, oxidative stress, and muscle contraction.
JOURNAL OF PROTEOMICS
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Emmanuel Andre Lozada-Soto, Daniela Lourenco, Christian Maltecca, Justin Fix, Clint Schwab, Caleb Shull, Francesco Tiezzi
Summary: The value of using genomic information for genetic improvement in pork production depends on the traits and the source of genomic information. Including genomic information of crossbred individuals is more beneficial than multi-trait prediction for most traits.
GENETICS SELECTION EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Luke M. Kramer, Anna Wolc, Hadi Esfandyari, Dinesh M. Thekkoot, Chunyan Zhang, Robert A. Kemp, Graham Plastow, Jack C. M. Dekkers
Summary: This study aimed to estimate genetic parameters for maternal reproductive traits between two purebred maternal nucleus populations (Landrace and Yorkshire) and their crossbred offspring. Single-step GBLUP analysis was conducted by considering different combinations of purebred and crossbred populations, indicating potential for improving selection of purebred animals for crossbred performance.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Shishu Yin, Gang Song, Ning Gao, Hu Gao, Qinghua Zeng, Peng Lu, Qin Zhang, Kang Xu, Jun He
Summary: Ningxiang pigs have superior meat quality but suboptimal carcass traits. A genome-wide association study revealed significant SNPs and identified genes related to carcass length, backfat thickness, and meat quality parameters in Ningxiang pigs. These findings have potential applications in selective breeding programs for improving carcass traits in Ningxiang pigs.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Jinzhu Xiang, Liang Zhong, Hui Luo, Lingbo Meng, Yanbing Dong, Zhi Qi, Hanning Wang
Summary: This study compared the carcass traits, rumen bacterial communities, and meat nutritional qualities between Chinese Mongolian sheep (MS) and Dorper x Chinese Mongolian crossbred sheep (DS). DS showed a faster growth rate and better carcass traits but lower meat nutritional quality. The differential rumen bacterial compositions were associated with the differences in carcass traits and meat nutritional composition.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Zhongyang Guo, Xiaoling Chen, Daiwen Chen, Mingzhou Li, Jingdong Yin, Bing Yu, Jun He, Zhiqing Huang
Summary: The study shows that increasing the slaughter age of DLY pigs results in significant improvements in growth traits and nutritional value, but leads to a decrease in pork sensory quality.
ANIMAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Nicolas J. Herrera, Nicolas A. Bland, Felipe A. Ribeiro, Morgan L. Henriott, Eric M. Hofferber, Jakob Meier, Jessica L. Petersen, Nicole M. Iverson, Chris R. Calkins
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of LPS-mediated oxidative stress on fresh meat quality. Results showed that LPS treatment led to increased rectal temperatures in lambs and upregulation of RNA pathways related to oxidative stress in muscles. Additionally, LPS treatment had an impact on meat tenderness.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Delano S. Oliveira, Marcos Claudio P. Rogerio, Arnaud A. Alves, Ana S. M. Batista, Fernando Henrique M. A. R. De Albuquerque, Roberto C. F. F. Pompeu, Vinicius P. Guimaraes
Summary: The study evaluated the meat characteristics of crossbred lambs under confinement, finding that 1/2 BS x 1/2 NDRS lambs had better marbling, lipid content, and meat color, while 1/2 SI x 1/2 NDRS lambs had a higher conjugated linoleic acid profile. This suggests that Santa Ines crossbred lambs have better nutritional value for meat production, especially for foods beneficial to human health.
ANAIS DA ACADEMIA BRASILEIRA DE CIENCIAS
(2021)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Paolo Polidori, Natalina Cammertoni, Giuseppe Santini, Yulia Klimanova, Jing-Jing Zhang, Silvia Vincenzetti
Summary: The study showed that donkey foals reared under intensive feeding system had higher body weight, carcass weight, intramuscular fat content, and Thrombogenic Index, while those reared under extensive feeding system had higher protein and unsaturated fatty acid content.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Higor Fabio Carvalho Bezerra, Edson Mauro Santos, Gleidson Giordano Pinto de Carvalho, Juliana Silva de Oliveira, Anderson de Moura Zanine, Ricardo Martins Araujo Pinho, Maria Leonor Garcia Melo Lopes de Araujo, Alexandre Fernandes Perazzo, Daniele de Jesus Ferreira
Summary: This study assessed the effects of different levels of crude glycerin on the carcass characteristics and meat quality of Boer crossbred goat kids. The results showed that increasing levels of crude glycerin led to a decrease in dry matter intake, but had no effect on body conformation or subcutaneous fat thickness. Furthermore, the crude glycerin had no significant effect on meat quality parameters and can be used as an energy source in the diet.
FOOD SCIENCE & NUTRITION
(2022)
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Guoyu Hu, Duy Ngoc Do, Pourya Davoudi, Younes Miar
Summary: The global population increase has led to higher demand for food and water, particularly meat. This necessitates the search for alternatives to reduce feed consumption and understand the biology of feed efficiency. Non-coding RNAs play a significant role in this area.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Pourya Davoudi, Duy Do, Stefanie M. Colombo, Bruce Rathgeber, Guoyu Hu, Mehdi Sargolzaei, Zhiquan Wang, Graham Plastow, Younes Miar
Summary: The improvement of feed efficiency in American mink is crucial for reducing the cost of production. This study estimated the heritability and genetic correlations of different feed efficiency measures and component traits. The residual intake and gain were found to be a favorable trait for selecting faster-growing mink with reduced feed intake. The Kleiber ratio was also identified as a promising indirect measure of feed efficiency. Overall, including feed efficiency traits in breeding programs can effectively select feed-efficient mink.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Pourya Davoudi, Duy Ngoc Do, Stefanie M. Colombo, Bruce Rathgeber, Younes Miar
Summary: This review comprehensively discusses the topics related to feed efficiency (FE) in pigs, including measurements, genetics, genomics, biological pathways, and advanced technologies for improvement. A deeper understanding of the biology underlying FE is crucial for genetic improvement of FE traits.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Pourya Davoudi, Duy Ngoc Do, Bruce Rathgeber, Stefanie M. Colombo, Mehdi Sargolzaei, Graham Plastow, Zhiquan Wang, Karim Karimi, Guoyu Hu, Shafagh Valipour, Younes Miar
Summary: This study presents the first genome-wide CNV analysis of American mink, using whole-genome sequence data from 100 individuals. The results suggest potential links between CNVs and mink behavior, fur quality, and immune response.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Guoyu Hu, Duy Ngoc Do, Pourya Davoudi, Ghader Manafiazar, Alyson A. Kelvin, Graham Plastow, Zhiquan Wang, Mehdi Sargolzaei, Younes Miar
Summary: This study estimated the genetic and phenotypic correlations between Aleutian disease (AD) tests and various traits in mink, including body weight, growth, and feed-related traits. The findings suggest that selecting AD tests does not have adverse effects on the growth, feed efficiency, and feed intake of mink. Additionally, the antigen-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test could be considered a reliable and practical indicator trait for selecting AD-resilient mink on AD-positive farms.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Saeed Shadpour, Tatiane C. S. Chud, Dagnachew Hailemariam, Graham Plastow, Hinayah R. Oliveira, Paul Stothard, Jan Lassen, Filippo Miglior, Christine F. Baes, Dan Tulpan, Flavio S. Schenkel
Summary: This study investigated the effectiveness of milk mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIRS) data in predicting CH4 emissions in lactating cows. The results showed that using only milk yield (MY) for prediction had low accuracy, while adding other factors such as fat yield (FY) and protein yield (PY) improved the accuracy. However, using only MIRS data yielded the highest accuracy compared to other combinations.
JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Saeed Shadpour, Tatiane C. S. Chud, Dagnachew Hailemariam, Hinayah R. Oliveira, Graham Plastow, Paul Stothard, Jan Lassen, Ransom Baldwin, Filippo Miglior, Christine F. Baes, Dan Tulpan, Flavio S. Schenkel
Summary: This study aimed to improve DMI predictions of Canadian Holstein cows using milk MIRS data with the help of artificial neural networks (ANN). Different ANN architectures were explored to predict unobserved DMI, and the robustness of developed prediction models was validated by analyzing data from dairy cows in Canada, Denmark, and the United States.
JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Marzieh Heidaritabar, Abe Huisman, Kirill Krivushin, Paul Stothard, Elda Dervishi, Patrick Charagu, Marco C. A. M. Bink, Graham S. Plastow
Summary: Imputed whole-genome sequence (WGS) was used to study pork color traits in purebred and crossbred pigs. The results showed that WGS could detect more quantitative trait loci (QTL) regions and explain a higher percentage of phenotypic variance compared to medium-density marker panels. These findings provide additional insights into identifying candidate genes and regions for pork color traits in different pig populations.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Xin-Wei Zang, Hui-Zeng Sun, Ming-Yuan Xue, Zhe Zhang, Graham Plastow, Tianfu Yang, Le Luo Guan, Jian-Xin Liu
Summary: This study identified heritable and nonheritable bacterial taxa at species level in the rumen of dairy cows, and investigated their contributions to milk production traits. The results showed that heritable bacteria have a stronger contribution to milk traits compared to nonheritable bacteria. The findings suggest that improving milk production traits can be achieved through attention to host genetics and the interaction with the rumen microbiota.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Elda Dervishi, Xuechun Bai, Jian Cheng, Frederic Fortin, Mike K. Dyck, John C. S. Harding, Yolande M. Seddon, Jack C. M. Dekkers, PigGen Canada, Graham Plastow
Summary: This study identifies L-alpha-aminobutyric acid as a potential genetic marker for lymphocyte response after pathogen exposure. It also contributes to understanding the impact of environmental enrichment on plasma metabolite concentration.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Yulu Chen, Steven Lonergan, Kyu-Sang Lim, Jian Cheng, Austin M. Putz, Michael K. Dyck, PigGen Canada, Frederic Fortin, John C. S. Harding, Graham S. Plastow, Jack C. M. Dekkers
Summary: This study found that plasma protein levels can be used as an indicator to select pigs with disease resilience, as they are genetically correlated with disease resilience. Therefore, plasma protein levels have the potential to be used as a tool for pig breeding and management.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Stephanie Kamalanathan, Kerry Houlahan, Filippo Miglior, Tatiane C. S. Chud, Dave J. Seymour, Dagnachew Hailemariam, Graham Plastow, Hinayah R. de Oliveira, Christine F. Baes, Flavio S. Schenkel
Summary: Dairy cows contribute to greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, and strategies involving genetics and breeding can be used to reduce methane emissions. This study assessed three definitions for methane emission traits and their genetic parameters in Holstein cattle. The heritability of daily methane production, methane yield, and methane intensity was estimated, and a high genetic correlation was found between daily methane production and methane intensity. This study suggests that genetic selection can potentially mitigate methane emissions in Holstein cattle.
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Guangyu Wu, Chuan Yang, Heather L. Bruce, Bimol C. Roy, Xia Li, Chunhui Zhang
Summary: AEF technology was used during freezing-thawing-aging process of beef. Comparisons were made between beef aged with AEF (AEF + FA), beef aged without AEF (FA), and aged only (OA) controls. FA increased purge loss, cooking loss, shear force values, and lipid oxidation, while decreasing a* values compared to AEF + FA treatment. AEF helped to maintain meat quality by reducing purge loss, cooking loss, increasing tenderness, and maintaining color and lipid oxidation only in frozen aged steak.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Jian Cheng, KyuSang Lim, Austin M. Putz, Anna Wolc, John C. S. Harding, Michael K. Dyck, Frederic Fortin, Graham S. Plastow, Jack C. M. Dekkers, PigGen Canada
Summary: This study aimed to quantify genetic variation in disease resilience using reaction norm models and identified genotype-by-environment interactions related to disease challenge loads. Results showed that selecting animals based on different levels of CL can improve their resilience, and high-performance animals can be selected at a given CL.
GENETICS SELECTION EVOLUTION
(2022)
Review
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Xuechun Bai, Graham S. Plastow
Summary: Disease resilience, the ability of animals to maintain productive performance in the face of infection, presents opportunities for managing challenges in pig production. However, progress in applying disease resilience in breeding programs has been limited due to confusion around definitions and the complexity of the trait. This review refines the definitions and provides insights for improving understanding and application of disease resilience. Further advancements require large-scale multi-omics data, new phenotyping technologies, and genome editing.
CABI AGRICULTURE & BIOSCIENCE
(2022)