Fetal and neonatal programming of postnatal growth and feed efficiency in swine

Abstract

Maternal undernutrition or overnutrition during pregnancy alters organ structure, impairs prenatal and neonatal growth and development, and reduces feed efficiency for lean tissue gains in pigs. These adverse effects may be carried over to the next generation or beyond. This phenomenon of the transgenerational impacts is known as fetal programming, which is mediated by stable and heritable alterations of gene expression through covalent modifications of DNA and histones without changes in DNA sequences (namely, epigenetics). The mechanisms responsible for the epigenetic regulation of protein expression and functions include chromatin remodeling; DNA methylation (occurring at the 5´-position of cytosine residues within CpG dinucleotides); and histone modifications (acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination). Like maternal malnutrition, undernutrition during the neonatal period also reduces growth performance and feed efficiency (weight gain:feed intake; also known as weight-gain efficiency) in postweaning pigs by 5–10%, thereby increasing the days necessary to reach the market body-weight. Supplementing functional amino acids (e.g., arginine and glutamine) and vitamins (e.g., folate) play a key role in activating the mammalian target of rapamycin signaling and regulating the provision of methyl donors for DNA and protein methylation. Therefore, these nutrients are beneficial for the dietary treatment of metabolic disorders in offspring with intrauterine growth restriction or neonatal malnutrition. The mechanism-based strategies hold great promise for the improvement of the efficiency of pork production and the sustainability of the global swine industry.

Dietary ZnO and arginine supplementation on the dynamic change of microbiota, intestinal morphology, and immune function of weaned pigs subjected to heat stress

“…In this study, a high level of dietary Arg increased the gene expression of TLR4 in the jejunum and liver. A large body of evidence has shown the up-regulation gene expression of pro-inflammatory within a short time of weaning [24,26,27]. In the present study, the expression of TNF-α was decreased in the jejunum of the ZnO-supplemented weaned pigs.…”

Piglet birthweight and sex affect growth performance and fatty acid composition in fatty pigs

“…Lower BIW is associated with higher morbidity, different developmental patterns, and changes in body composition and homeostasis, due to prenatal programming through epigenetic changes (Gondret et al 2005b(Gondret et al , 2006Gonzalez-Bulnes et al 2016;Ji et al 2017). Within-litter BIW variation (BIWV) may be associated with a high variability in carcass and meat quality in the same feedlot, which affects profitability and the production of dry-cured products (Andretta et al 2016).…”

Maternal undernutrition and offspring sex determine birth-weight, postnatal development and meat characteristics in traditional swine breeds

“…Second, LBW piglets show higher morbidity and mortality, and lower growth potential, lower feed efficiency and lower meat yield than their normal birth-weight (NBW) littermates [ 11 – 13 ]. Moreover, LBW piglets may modify their physiology and metabolism by prenatal programming in response to the inadequate intrauterine environment, either of maternal or placental origin [ 14 , 15 ]. After birth, these individuals are predisposed to excess adiposity as an adaptive mechanism for energy storing and survival in the inadequate postnatal environment expected, so carcass yields and meat quality would be affected.…”