Biochemical, nutritional and genetic effects on boar taint in entire male pigs

Zamaratskaia, Galia; Squires, E. J.

doi:10.1017/s1751731108003674

Cited by 183 publications

(181 citation statements)

References 122 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

167

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…2011), selection against taint resulted in lengthening the time to sexual maturity in pigs with low androstenone levels. However, skatole appears in fat through a relatively short metabolic pathway (Zamaratskaia & Squires 2009), which reduces the number of network interactions that may occur, and empirically, a reduction in skatole has not been associated with a negative effect on sex hormones. Therefore, skatole seems a more promising trait to use for utilising in selection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficiency of genomic prediction for boar taint reduction in Danish Landrace pigs

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SummaryGenetic selection against boar taint, which is caused by high skatole and androstenone concentrations in fat, is a more acceptable alternative than is the current practice of castration. Genomic predictors offer an opportunity to overcome the limitations of such selection caused by the phenotype being expressed only in males at slaughter, and this study evaluated different approaches to obtain such predictors. Samples from 1000 pigs were included in a design which was dominated by 421 sib pairs, each pair having one animal with high and one with low skatole concentration (≥0.3 μg/g). All samples were measured for both skatole and androstenone and genotyped using the Illumina SNP60 porcine BeadChip for 62 153 single nucleotide polymorphisms. The accuracy of predicting phenotypes was assessed by cross‐validation using six different genomic evaluation methods: genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP) and five Bayesian regression methods. In addition, this was compared to the accuracy of predictions using only QTL that showed genome‐wide significance. The range of accuracies obtained by different prediction methods was narrow for androstenone, between 0.29 (Bayes Lasso) and 0.31 (Bayes B), and wider for skatole, between 0.21 (GBLUP) and 0.26 (Bayes SSVS). Relative accuracies, corrected for h 2, were 0.54–0.56 and 0.75–0.94 for androstenone and skatole respectively. The whole‐genome evaluation methods gave greater accuracy than using only the QTL detected in the data. The results demonstrate that GBLUP for androstenone is the simplest genomic technology to implement and was also close to the most accurate method. More specialised models may be preferable for skatole.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficiency of genomic prediction for boar taint reduction in Danish Landrace pigs

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, it remains unclear how a polymorphism in the MC4R gene, which is known to affect daily gain and lean meat percentage (Kim et al, 2000), can affect the plasma concentration of skatole and indole. Both compounds are produced in the colon via degradation of the amino acid tryptophan by intestinal bacteria (Zamaratskaia and Squires, 2009). The main origin of tryptophan as precursor for skatole and indole is cell debris from the turnover of intestinal cells (Claus et al, 1994;Wesoly and Weiler, 2012).…”

Section: Boar Taintmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, sex steroids and boar taint compounds are physiologically associated. Androstenone, one of the main compounds of boar taint, is a steroid that is produced in the Leydig cells of the testes along with testosterone (Zamaratskaia and Squires, 2009). It is a pheromone that is released in the saliva of boars; it provokes the standing response of female pigs at oestrus (Perry et al, 1980;Dorries et al, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of the MC4R gene on boar taint compounds, sexual maturity and behaviour in growing-finishing boars and gilts

Broeke¹,

Aluwé²,

Janssens

et al. 2015

Animal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Societal pressure to ban surgical castration of male piglets is rising due to animal welfare concerns, thus other methods to prevent boar taint need to be explored. Genetic selection against boar taint appears to be a long-term sustainable alternative. However, as boar taint is linked to reproductive hormones, it is important to consider possible negative side effects such as delayed sexual maturity or changes in behaviour. We reported earlier that the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) marker can be used to reduce boar taint levels in fat of boars. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether MC4R marker-assisted selection for lower boar taint prevalence affects plasma levels of boar taint compounds and testosterone; sexual maturity; behaviour; skin lesions; and lameness in boars and gilts. Using an intervention study with a 2 × 2 design, 264 boars and gilts differing on position 893 of the MC4R gene (AA v. GG) were compared. The MC4R polymorphism did not affect the plasma concentration of either androstenone or testosterone at different time points, whereas the concentration of skatole was significantly lower ( P = 0.003) and the concentration of indole tended to be lower ( P = 0.074) in GG compared with AA boars. A higher percentage of gilts of the GG genotype were in puberty at slaughter age compared with AA gilts ( P < 0.001). The age of the boars at sexual maturity (as indicated by the first positive preputial smear test) did not differ between AA and GG boars. In contrast, weight of GG boars at sexual maturity tended to be lower ( P = 0.065). During the period from 6 weeks of age to slaughter, boars and gilts of the GG genotype showed more playing behaviour ( P = 0.015) and less passive and feeding behaviour ( P = 0.003). They showed more skin lesions on their back and caudal area ( P = 0.022), and tended to show more skin lesions on their head and anterior area ( P = 0.093) compared with AA animals. In conclusion, the polymorphism in the MC4R gene can be used as a marker without negative effects on reproduction characteristics in boars and gilts. Genetic selection towards a lower prevalence of boar taint will lead to more active pigs with more skin lesions. Management strategies may therefore be necessary to reduce skin lesions in the selected animals.

show abstract

“…Rearing entire males has advantages in terms of work load, pain, animal health and feed efficiency, but may also cause problems as indicated above (EFSA, 2004a;von Borell et al, 2009;Zamaratskaia and Squires, 2009). Rearing entire males is systematically applied in United Kingdom and Ireland or at a very large scale in some southern countries like Spain and Portugal (Fredriksen et al, 2008).…”

Section: A Case Study Of the 3s Integrated Approach: Castration Of Pimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To reduce the risk of boar taint, pigs are slaughtered at a slightly lower weight than in other European countries. Another solution may be the genetic selection of animals with low levels of boar taint, which would help generalise the production of entire males (EFSA, 2004a;von Borell et al, 2009;Zamaratskaia and Squires, 2009). This solution seems possible but is expected to need several years of study and development, given the complexity of the mechanisms that are involved and the possible negative side effects on reproductive performance.…”

Section: A Case Study Of the 3s Integrated Approach: Castration Of Pimentioning

confidence: 99%

Minimising pain in farm animals: the 3S approach – ‘Suppress, Substitute, Soothe’

Guatteo

Levionnois

Fournier

et al. 2012

Animal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recently, the French National Institute for Agricultural Research appointed an expert committee to review the issue of pain in food-producing farm animals. To minimise pain, the authors developed a ‘3S’ approach accounting for ‘Suppress, Substitute and Soothe’ by analogy with the ‘3Rs’ approach of ‘Reduction, Refinement and Replacement’ applied in the context of animal experimentation. Thus, when addressing the matter of pain, the following steps and solutions could be assessed, in the light of their feasibility (technical constraints, logistics and regulations), acceptability (societal and financial aspects) and availability. The first solution is tosuppressany source of pain that brings no obvious advantage to the animals or the producers, as well as sources of pain for which potential benefits are largely exceeded by the negative effects. For instance, tail docking of cattle has recently been eliminated. Genetic selection on the basis of resistance criteria (as e.g. for lameness in cattle and poultry) or reduction of undesirable traits (e.g. boar taint in pigs) may also reduce painful conditions or procedures. The second solution is tosubstitutea technique causing pain by another less-painful method. For example, if dehorning cattle is unavoidable, it is preferable to perform it at a very young age, cauterising the horn bud. Animal management and constraint systems should be designed to reduce the risk for injury and bruising. Lastly, in situations where pain is known to be present, because of animal management procedures such as dehorning or castration, or because of pathology, for example lameness, systemic or local pharmacological treatments should be used tosoothepain. These treatments should take into account the duration of pain, which, in the case of some management procedures or diseases, may persist for longer periods. The administration of pain medication may require the intervention of veterinarians, but exemptions exist where breeders are allowed to use local anaesthesia (e.g. castration and dehorning in Switzerland). Extension of such exemptions, national or European legislation on pain management, or the introduction of animal welfare codes by retailers into their meat products may help further developments. In addition, veterinarians and farmers should be given the necessary tools and information to take into account animal pain in their management decisions.

show abstract

Biochemical, nutritional and genetic effects on boar taint in entire male pigs

Cited by 183 publications

References 122 publications

Efficiency of genomic prediction for boar taint reduction in Danish Landrace pigs

Efficiency of genomic prediction for boar taint reduction in Danish Landrace pigs

The effect of the MC4R gene on boar taint compounds, sexual maturity and behaviour in growing-finishing boars and gilts

Minimising pain in farm animals: the 3S approach – ‘Suppress, Substitute, Soothe’

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About