Nutritional intervention during gestation alters growth, body composition and gene expression patterns in skeletal muscle of pig offspring

A High-Energy Diet and Spirulina Supplementation during Pre-Gestation, Gestation, and Lactation do Not Affect the Reproductive and Lactational Performance of Primiparous Sows

Simple Summary

High-energy or high-fat diets are often fed to pregnant and lactating sows to overcome problems resulting from insufficient energy intake. However, their long-term consumption has the potential to impair the reproductive and lactational traits in sows. The microalga spirulina has been previously described to exert beneficial health effects, and it may potentially reverse the detrimental effects induced by a high-energy diet. In the present study, both a high-energy diet and the spirulina did not affect the reproduction and lactational traits in sows, though they both influenced the colostrum fatty acids profile in a way that may impact offspring growth and health. Moreover, sows fed a high-energy diet tended to have less piglets weaned than sows fed a control diet. The spirulina was not able to reverse these effects but tended to affect the proportion of males and females per litter in a diet-specific manner.

Abstract

Feeding high-energy (HED) or high-fat diets during gestation and lactation to pigs may help cover the energy requirements of high-prolific sows but may also adversely affect their reproductive performance. The microalga Arthrospira plantensis (Sp), rich in bioactive compounds, has been described to exert beneficial health effects. The present study investigated the effects of HED and Sp intake during gestation and lactation in pigs. Twenty-four primiparous crossbred sows were fed either a HED or a control diet. Half of the sows per group were supplemented with 20 g/day of Sp. Despite a higher gross energy intake, consuming the HED did not affect the sows’ reproductive and lactational performance but significantly modified the colostrum fatty acid (FA) composition and tended to decrease the number of weaned piglets. The Sp supplementation did not affect the reproduction and lactation traits, but slightly affected the colostrum FA composition. A trend was observed for an interaction of diet and Sp in terms of offspring sex ratio with a 50% lower male-to-female ratio in the HED group compared to all other animals. These findings suggest that an HED and Sp intake hardly influence reproduction in sows. However, the HED modified the colostrum FA composition, whereas the Sp had only fewer effects, which may potentially affect offspring performance.

Genes Related to Fat Metabolism in Pigs and Intramuscular Fat Content of Pork: A Focus on Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics

Simple Summary

The intramuscular fat (IMF) or marbling is an essential pork sensory quality that influences the preference of the consumers and premiums for pork. IMF is the streak of visible fat intermixed with the lean within a muscle fibre and determines sensorial qualities of pork such as flavour, tenderness and juiciness. Fat metabolism and IMF development are controlled by dietary nutrients, genes, and their metabolic pathways in the pig. Nutrigenetics explains how the genetic make-up of an individual pig influences the pig’s response to dietary nutrient intake. Differently, nutrigenomics is the analysis of how the entire genome of an individual pig is affected by dietary nutrient intake. The knowledge of nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics, when harmonized, is a powerful tool in estimating nutrient requirements for swine and programming dietary nutrient supply according to an individual pig’s genetic make-up. The current paper aimed to highlight the roles of nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics in elucidating the underlying mechanisms of fat metabolism and IMF deposition in pigs. This knowledge is essential in redefining nutritional intervention for swine production and the improvement of some economically important traits such as growth performance, backfat thickness, IMF accretion, disease resistance etc., in animals.

Abstract

Fat metabolism and intramuscular fat (IMF) are qualitative traits in pigs whose development are influenced by several genes and metabolic pathways. Nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics offer prospects in estimating nutrients required by a pig. Application of these emerging fields in nutritional science provides an opportunity for matching nutrients based on the genetic make-up of the pig for trait improvements. Today, integration of high throughput “omics” technologies into nutritional genomic research has revealed many quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for the mutation(s) of key genes directly or indirectly involved in fat metabolism and IMF deposition in pigs. Nutrient–gene interaction and the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in fatty acid synthesis and marbling in pigs is difficult to unravel. While existing knowledge on QTLs and SNPs of genes related to fat metabolism and IMF development is yet to be harmonized, the scientific explanations behind the nature of the existing correlation between the nutrients, the genes and the environment remain unclear, being inconclusive or lacking precision. This paper aimed to: (1) discuss nutrigenetics, nutrigenomics and epigenetic mechanisms controlling fat metabolism and IMF accretion in pigs; (2) highlight the potentials of these concepts in pig nutritional programming and research.

Supplementation of sows with L-Arginine during gestating and lactation affects muscle traits of offspring related with postnatal growth and meat quality: From conception to consumption

This study investigated the effect of dietary inclusion of 25 g/day of _L-Arginine (n = 7) or iso‑nitrogenous amounts of alanine (n = 6) from d 30 of gestation to d 28 of lactation of sows on performance, muscle traits and meat quality in offspring. From each litter, heaviest and smallest littermate of both sexes were reared from d 28 and slaughtered at d 140 in accordance with a 2³factorial design. A response to _L-Arginine were obtained on small females where _L-Arginine increased birth weight, however this effect disappeared at weaning. _L-Arginine increased daily gain by 7% and increased the cross-sectional area of the M. semitendinosus in small females by 14%, suggesting an increased lean ratio. Mechanistic studies showed firstly, that small female littermates had increased number of muscle fibres (myogenesis) after _L-Arginine treatment (11%) and secondly increased total DNA (12%) as a consequence of satellite cell proliferation. Traits describing tenderness seem to be affected by _L-Arginine but further studies are needed.

An association analysis of sow parity, live-weight and back-fat depth as indicators of sow productivity

Understanding how critical sow live-weight and back-fat depth during gestation are in ensuring optimum sow productivity is important. The objective of this study was to quantify the association between sow parity, live-weight and back-fat depth during gestation with subsequent sow reproductive performance. Records of 1058 sows and 13 827 piglets from 10 trials on two research farms between the years 2005 and 2015 were analysed. Sows ranged from parity 1 to 6 with the number of sows per parity distributed as follows: 232, 277, 180, 131, 132 and 106, respectively. Variables that were analysed included total born (TB), born alive (BA), piglet birth weight (BtWT), pre-weaning mortality (PWM), piglet wean weight (WnWT), number of piglets weaned (Wn), wean to service interval (WSI), piglets born alive in subsequent farrowing and sow lactation feed intake. Calculated variables included the within-litter CV in birth weight (LtV), pre-weaning growth rate per litter (PWG), total litter gain (TLG), lactation efficiency and litter size reared after cross-fostering. Data were analysed using linear mixed models accounting for covariance among records. Third and fourth parity sows had more (P0.05). Heavier sow live-weight throughout gestation was associated with an increase in PWM (P0.05). In conclusion, this study showed that sow parity, live-weight and back-fat depth can be used as indicators of reproductive performance. In addition, this study also provides validation for future development of a benchmarking tool to monitor and improve the productivity of modern sow herd.

Mitochondrial biogenesis is decreased in skeletal muscle of pig fetuses exposed to maternal high-energy diets

Mitochondria plays an important role in the regulation of energy homeostasis. Moreover, mitochondrial biogenesis accompanies skeletal myogenesis, and we previously reported that maternal high-energy diet repressed skeletal myogenesis in pig fetuses. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of moderately increased maternal energy intake on skeletal muscle mitochondrial biogenesis and function of the pig fetuses. Primiparous purebred Large White sows were allocated to a normal energy intake group (NE) as recommended by the National Research Council (NRC) and a high energy intake group (HE, 110% of NRC recommendations). On day 90 of gestation, fetal umbilical vein blood and longissimus (LM) muscle were collected. Results showed that the weight gain of sows fed HE diet was higher than NE sows on day 90 of gestation (P<0.05). Maternal HE diet increased fetal umbilical vein serum triglyceride and insulin concentrations (P<0.05), and tended to increase the homeostasis model assessment index (P=0.08). Furthermore, HE fetuses exhibited increased malondialdehyde concentration (P<0.05), and decreased activities of antioxidative enzymes (P<0.05) and intracellular NAD+ level (P<0.05) in LM muscle. These alterations in metabolic traits of HE fetuses were accompanied by reduced mitochondrial DNA amount (P<0.05) and down-regulated messenger RNA expression levels of genes responsible for mitochondrial biogenesis and function (P<0.05). Our results suggest that moderately increased energy supply during gestation decreases mitochondrial biogenesis, function and antioxidative capacity in skeletal muscle of pig fetuses.

Increased fat and polyunsaturated fatty acid content in sow gestation diet has no effect on gene expression in progeny during the first 7 days of life

The 'developmental origins of health and disease' hypothesis proposes not only that we are what we eat, but also that we could be what our parents ate. Here, we aimed to improve health and performance of young piglets via maternal diets based on the hypothesis that maternal nutritional interventions change metabolic programming in piglets, reflected by differential gene expression early in life. Therefore, sows were fed either a regular diet, based on barley, wheat and wheat by-products, sugar beet pulp, palm oil and oilseed meal, or a high-fat (HF) diet consisting of the regular diet supplemented with an additional amount of 3.5% soybean oil and 1% fish oil at the expense of palm oil and wheat. Performance results, physiological parameters and gene expression in liver of piglets and blood of piglets and sows at day 7 after farrowing from both diet groups were compared. The HF diet tended to enhance growth rate of the offspring in the first week of life. No significant differences in gene expression in liver tissue and blood could be detected between the two groups, neither with whole-genome microarray analysis, nor with gene specific qPCR analysis. In this study, the feeding of a high-fat diet with increased amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) to gestating sows under practical farm settings did not induce significant changes in gene expression in sows and offspring.

Offspring subcutaneous adipose markers are sensitive to the timing of maternal gestational weight gain

BACKGROUND

Excessive maternal weight gain during pregnancy impacts on offspring health. This study focused on the timing of maternal gestational weight gain, using a porcine model with mothers of normal pre-pregnancy weight.

METHODS

Trial design ensured the trajectory of maternal gestational weight gain differed across treatments in early, mid and late gestation. Diet composition did not differ. On day 25 gestation, sows were assigned to one of five treatments: Control sows received a standard gestation diet of 2.3 kg/day (30 MJ DE/day) from early to late gestation (day 25-110 gestation). E sows received 4.6 kg food/day in early gestation (day 25-50 gestation). M sows doubled their food intake in mid gestation (day 50-80 gestation). EM sows doubled their food intake during both early and mid gestation (day 25-80 gestation). L sows consumed 3.5 kg food/day in late gestation (day 80-110 gestation). Offspring body weight and food intake levels were measured from birth to adolescence. Markers of lipid metabolism, hypertrophy and inflammation were investigated in subcutaneous adipose tissue of adolescent offspring.

RESULTS

The trajectory of gestational weight gain differed across treatments. However total gestational weight gain did not differ except for EM sows who were the heaviest and fattest mothers at parturition. Offspring birth weight did not differ across treatments. Subcutaneous adipose tissue from EM offspring differed significantly from controls, with elevated mRNA levels of lipogenic (CD36, ACACB and LPL), nutrient transporters (FABP4 and GLUT4), lipolysis (HSL and ATGL), adipocyte size (MEST) and inflammation (PAI-1) indicators. The subcutaneous adipose depot from L offspring exhibited elevated levels of CD36, ACACB, LPL, GLUT4 and FABP4 mRNA transcripts compared to control offspring.

CONCLUSIONS

Increasing gestational weight gain in early gestation had the greatest impact on offspring postnatal growth rate. Increasing maternal food allowance in late gestation appeared to shift the offspring adipocyte focus towards accumulation of fat. Mothers who gained the most weight during gestation (EM mothers) gave birth to offspring whose subcutaneous adipose tissue, at adolescence, appeared hyperactive compared to controls. This study concluded that mothers, who gained more than the recommended weight gain in mid and late gestation, put their offspring adipose tissue at risk of dysfunction.

Poor maternal nutrition during gestation in sheep reduces circulating concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-I and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 in offspring

To determine if poor maternal nutrition alters growth, body composition, circulating growth factors, and expression of genes involved in the development of muscle and adipose of offspring, 24 Dorset and Shropshire ewes were fed either 100% (control fed), 60% (restricted fed), or 126% (over fed) of National Research Council requirements. Diets began at day 116 ± 6 of gestation until parturition. At parturition, 1 lamb from each control fed (CON), restricted fed (RES), and over fed (OVER) ewe was necropsied within 24 h of birth (1 d; n = 3/treatment) or reared on a control diet for 3 mo (CON = 5, RES = 5, and OVER = 3/treatment) and then euthanized. Body weights and blood samples were collected from lambs from 1 d to 3 mo. Organ weights, back fat thickness, loin eye area, and tissue samples (quadriceps, adipose, and liver) were collected at 1 d and 3 mo of age. The RES lambs weighed 16% less than CON (P = 0.01) between 1 d and 3 mo of age. In RES, there was a tendency for reduced heart girth at 1 d and 3 mo (P < 0.07) and back fat was reduced 36% at 3 mo (P = 0.03). Heart weight was 30% greater in OVER at 1 d when compared with RES lambs (P = 0.02). Serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3 were reduced in RES and OVER lambs (P < 0.05). Leptin tended to be greater in OVER lambs compared with CON at 1 d and 3 mo (P ≤ 0.08). Triiodothyronine was reduced in RES at 1 d (P = 0.05) and triglycerides tended to be greater in OVER at 3 mo (P = 0.07). In liver, there was a tendency for increased expression of IGF-I in OVER (P = 0.06) and decreased IGFBP-3 in RES (P = 0.09) compared with CON lambs at 1 d. In adipose tissue, adiponectin expression was decreased in RES (P = 0.05) at 3 mo. At 1 d of age, muscle expression of IGF-I tended to increase in RES (P = 0.06). In conclusion, poor maternal nutrition during gestation reduced growth rate in offspring which may be because of reduced circulating IGF-I and IGFBP-3 and decreased expression of IGFBP-3 in the liver.

Folate deficiency during early-mid pregnancy affects the skeletal muscle transcriptome of piglets from a reciprocal cross

Folate deficiency (FD) during pregnancy can cause fetal intrauterine growth restriction in pigs, of which the skeletal dysplasia is a major manifestation. Factors influencing muscle development are very important in the formation of porcine meat quality trait. However, the effect of folate deficiency on skeletal muscle development and its molecular mechanisms are unknown. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of maternal folate deficiency on the skeletal muscle transcriptome of piglets from a reciprocal cross, in which full-sibling Landrace (LR) and full-sibling Chinese local breed Laiwu (LW) pigs were used for reciprocal cross matings, and sows were fed either a folate deficient or a normal diet during early-mid gestation. In addition, the difference in the responsiveness of the piglets to folate deficiency during early-mid pregnancy between reciprocal cross groups was investigated. Longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle samples were collected from newborn piglets and a 4 × 44K Agilent porcine oligo microarray was used for transcriptome analysis of porcine LD muscle. The results showed that folate deficiency during early-mid pregnancy affected piglet body weight, LD muscle fiber number and content of intramuscular triglyceride. The microarray results indicated that 3154 genes were differentially expressed between folate deficient and normal piglets from the LR♂ × LW♀ cross, and 3885 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the ones from the LW♂ × LR♀ cross. From functional analyses, sow folate deficiency affected almost all biological processes in the progeny. Lipid metabolism-related genes and associated metabolic pathways were regulated extensively by folate deficiency, especially in LR♂ × LW♀ cross piglets. Most of the genes that are regulated by folate deficiency in the LD muscle of piglets were different between LR♂ × LW♀ and LW♂ × LR♀ crosses, suggesting some epigenetic effects of FD exist in genes underlying myogenesis and intramuscular fat deposition in piglets.

Effect of gestating sow body condition, feed refusals, and group housing on growth and feed intake in grower-finishing pigs

The main focus of this study was to identify sow gestation features that affect growth rate (GR) and feed intake (FI) of their offspring during grower-finishing stage. Because the sow provides a specific environment to her offspring during gestation, certain features (e.g., BW of the sow), feed refusals or gestation group, may affect her ability to deliver and feed a healthy litter. Data on 17,743 grower-finishing pigs, coming from 604 sires and 681 crossbred sows, were obtained from the Institute for Pigs Genetics. Sow gestation features were collected during multiple gestations and divided into 3 clusters describing i) sow body condition (i.e., BW, backfat, and gestation length), ii) sow feed refusals (FR), the difference between offered and eaten feed during 3 periods of gestation: 1 to 28, 25 to 50, 45 to 80 d, and iii) sow group features (i.e., number of sows, and average parity). Sow gestation features were added to the base model 1 at a time to study their effect on GR and FI. Significant gestation features (P < 0.1) were fitted simultaneously in animal model to investigate whether they could explain common litter and permanent sow effects. Gestation length had effect on GR [1.4 (g/d)/d; P = 0.04] and FI [6.8 (g/d)/d; P = 0.007]. Body weights of the sow at insemination [0.07 (g/d)/kg; P = 0.08], at farrowing [0.14 (g/d)/kg; P < 0.0001], and after lactation [0.1 (g/d)/kg; P = 0.003] had effect on GR. Sow parturition-lactation loss in backfat thickness and weight were not significant for GR and FI. Days with FR during 25 to 50 and 45 to 80 d of gestation and average FR during 45 to 80 d of gestation had negative effect on GR and when substantially increased had also a positive effect on FI. Sow FR from 1 to 28 d of gestation were not significant. Number of sows in gestation group had effect on FI [-9 (g/d)/group member; P = 0.04] and day sow entered group had an effect on GR [-0.9 (g/d)/day; P = 0.04]. Sow gestation features explained 1 to 3% of the total variance in grower-finishing pigs. Gestation features did explain phenotypic variance due to permanent sow and part of phenotypic variance due to common litter effects for FI but not for GR.