• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.201-216
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• 2019

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is characterized by reproductive failure in sows and respiratory distress in all age pigs. Porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) is a disease caused by opportunistic bacterial infection secondary to a weakened immune system by a preceding respiratory infection. In this study, we tried to compare the immune responses in PRRS and PRDC groups to clearly characterize the disease severity. Eighty-five pigs were infected with various Korean field PRRS virus strains. Infected animals were classified into PRRS (n=32) and PRDC (n=53) groups based on lung lesions such as interstitial pneumonia, suppurative pneumonia, and pleuropneumonia. The immune cell population of bronchoalveolar lavage cells (BALc) was evaluated on 14 and 28 days post infection (dpi) and PMBC cytokine expression was measured on 0, 3, 7, 14 dpi to investigate early inflammatory reactions. Pulmonary lesion severity was negatively correlated with alveolar macrophage (AM) in both PRRS and PRDC groups on 14 and 28 dpi. AM in BALc was less populated in PRDC group on 28 dpi compared to PRRS group. AM in BALc was significantly less populated in PRDC group on 28 dpi compared to 14 dpi. In addition, cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) in BALc was higher populated in PRDC group on 14 dpi and 28 dpi compared to PRRS group. In the case of PBMC cytokine TNF-α, IFN-α, IL-1β, IFN-γ, FoxP3, and IL-2, the PRRS group showed higher expression than the PRDC group on 7 dpi, 14 dpi, 7 dpi, 14 dpi, 14 dpi, and 14 dpi, respectively. On the other hand, in the case of IFN-β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-4, and IL-17, the PRDC group showed higher PBMC cytokine expression at 14 dpi, 7 dpi, 14 dpi, 3 dpi, and 3 dpi, respectively, than the PRRS group. Based on these results, our study could characterize differential immune responses in pigs with PRRS or PRDC.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.507-515
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• 2009

A series of experiments were conducted to determine the suitable freezing and thawing temperatures for the freezing of boar semen in 5 ml maxi-straws. The ultrastructure, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and artificial insemination (AI) of frozen-thawed semen were also be evaluated. The 5 cm freezing height gave the best results not only in post-thaw motility rate (54.00%), but also in normal acrosome morphology rate (NAR) (80.23%). There was no significant difference in the post-thaw motility between different thawing temperatures and corresponding thawing times (p>0.05); the group of $52^{\circ}C$ and 25 s gave the highest motility rate (45.00%). As a whole, not only from the motility but also the NAR, thawing at $42^{\circ}C$ was better than the other two treatments. In the freezing packages, 5 ml maxi-straw gave a little lower mobility (40%), viability rate (49.58%), plasma membrane integrity rate (53.91%) and NAR (52.65%) than the 0.25 ml straw, but there was no significant difference between the two straw volumes (p>0.05). The IVF capacity of frozen-thawed semen in this experiment was similar to fresh semen. From ultrastructure observation, the main damage to boar spermatozoa after freezing was seen in the acrosome, such as swelling and formation of vesicles. After AI in recipient Shanghai White sows, frozen-thawed semen from 5 ml maxi-straws and pellets produced 72.2% and 80% conception rate and 7.8 and 8 litter sizes, respectively, and there was no significant difference between the 5 ml maxi-straw and the pellet (p>0.05).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.886-894
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• 2012

Well-designed housing systems are important from the viewpoint of animal welfare and improvement of meat production. In this study, we investigated the effects of outdoor housing of pigs on their behavior, cortisol levels, and meat characteristics. Two groups that were born and raised in a spacious outdoor pen ($4{\times}10$ m for every two sows) or a minimum-sized standard pen in a piggery ($1.9{\times}2.2$ m for every sow) were studied. When their behaviors at the age of 2 to 3 wk were observed, the number of rooting episodes tended to be larger (p = 0.0509) and the total time of rooting tended to be longer (p = 0.0640) in the outdoor-housed piglets although the difference was not significant. Basal salivary cortisol levels of the outdoor piglets at the age of 4 wk were significantly lower than those of the indoor piglets ($5.0{\pm}0.59$ ng/ml vs. $11.6{\pm}0.91$ ng/ml, 30 min after treatment), although their plasma cortisol levels were similar ($53.3{\pm}3.54$ ng/ml vs. $59.9{\pm}4.84$ ng/ml, 30 min after treatment). When the ears were pierced at weaning, plasma and salivary cortisol levels were increased in both groups, even at 15 min after piercing. However, the increase in the outdoor-housed group was significantly less than that in the indoor-housed group. Throughout their lives, body weight and daily gain of the pigs were not significantly different between the two groups. In a meat taste preference test taken by 20 panelists, saltiness, flavor, and color of the outdoor-housed pork were found to be more acceptable. Moreover, when an electronic taste-sensing device was utilized, the C00 and CPA-C00 outputs ($3.78{\pm}0.07$ and $-0.20{\pm}0.023$), which correspond to compounds of bitterness and smells, respectively, were significantly lower in the outdoor-housed pork ($5.03{\pm}0.16$ and $-0.13{\pm}0.009$). Our results demonstrate that the outdoor housing system for piglets induces natural behaviors such as rooting and suppresses the strongest stress reaction of piglets, which could be important for animal welfare. Moreover, the outdoor housing system might change muscle characteristics and improve pork bitterness, flavor, and color. These changes may be preferred by consumers, increasing the sale of these meats.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1763-1772
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of constant high ambient temperatures on meat quality, antioxidant capacity, and carnosine expression in longissimus dorsi muscle of finishing pigs. Castrated 24 male DLY (crossbreeds between Landrace${\times}$Yorkshire sows and Duroc boars) pigs were allocated to one of three treatments: constant ambient temperature at $22^{\circ}C$ and ad libitum feeding (CON, n = 8); constant high ambient temperature at $30^{\circ}C$ and ad libitum feeding (H30, n = 8); and constant ambient temperature at $22^{\circ}C$ and pair-fed with H30 (PF, n = 8). Meat quality, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, antioxidant capacity, carnosine content, and carnosine synthetase (CARNS1) mRNA expression in longissimus dorsi muscle were measured after three weeks. The results revealed that H30 had lower $pH_{24h}$, redness at 45 min, and yellowness at 24 h post-mortem (p<0.05), and higher drip loss at 48 h and lightness at 24 h post-mortem (p<0.01). Constant heat stress disrupted the pro-oxidant/antioxidant balance in longissimus dorsi muscle with higher MDA content (p<0.01) and lower antioxidant capacity (p<0.01). Carnosine content and CARNS1 mRNA expression in longissimus dorsi muscle of H30 pigs were significantly decreased (p<0.01) after three weeks at $30^{\circ}C$. In conclusion, constant high ambient temperatures affect meat quality and antioxidant capacity negatively, and the reduction of muscle carnosine content is one of the probable reasons.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.1610-1615
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• 2001

Three studies were conducted to determine the effect of sex on pre- and post-weaning performance of pigs. These studies were conducted in response to observations that female pigs appear to grow faster than male pigs after weaning. In addition, female pigs have been found to grow faster than male pigs when supplied with supplemental milk before weaning. The aims of the present work were to further characterise the ontogeny of sex differences growth of nursing and growing pigs. In the first study, piglets sucking 32 sows were crossfostered to produce litters of 10 boars (n=9), 10 gilts (n=l 1) or 5 boars and 5 gilts (n=12). Liveweight of the sucking pigs was then measured weekly until weaning at 4 weeks of age. In the second study, 80 boars and 80 gilts were weaned at 26 days of age and growth performance measured until 21 days post-weaning. In the third experiment, 40 boars and 40 gilts were weaned into groups of 5 pigs at either 17 or 25 days of age and pigs were weighed until they were approximately 90 kg liveweight. All-boar litters grew more slowly than the all-gilt and mixed litters such that by 14 days of age the all-boar litters were 10% lighter than the all-gilt or mixed litters (39 vs. 43.8 kg, p=0.050). The proportional difference in litter weight appeared to be maintained at 21 days of age (53.9 vs. 59.4 kg, p=0.063) but was diminished by 28 days of age (66.5 vs. 70.8 kg, p=0.28). In the second study, gilts grew more quickly than boars over the first 7 and 21 days post-weaning and as a consequence were 10% heavier than boars at 21 days after weaning (13.7 vs 12.48 kg, p=0.001). In the third study, gilts grew more quickly than boars in the immediate 7 days post-weaning (40 vs. 5 g/day, p=0.014) whereas from 7 until 35 days post-weaning there was no significant difference in growth rate (381 vs. 360 g/day, p=0.19). Gilts also grew more quickly than boars over the 14 days after being moved into the grower (631 vs. 570 g/day, p=0.013) and finisher (749 vs. 688 g/day, p=0.038) sheds. However, these differences were not maintained over the entire period in each shed. These data support the hypotheses that gilts handle the stresses of weaning and other transitions better than boars.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.320-327
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• 2017

Objective: The objective of this research was to estimate genetic correlations between number of piglets born alive in the first parity (NBA1), litter birth weight in the first parity (LTBW1), number of piglets weaned in the first parity (NPW1), litter weaning weight in the first parity (LTWW1), number of piglets born alive from second to last parity (NBA2+), litter birth weight from second to last parity (LTBW2+), number of piglets weaned from second to last parity (NPW2+) and litter weaning weight from second to last parity (LTWW2+), and to identify the percentages of animals (the top 10%, 25%, and 50%) for first parity and sums of second and later parity traits. Methods: The 9,830 records consisted of 2,124 Landrace (L), 724 Yorkshire (Y), 2,650 LY, and 4,332 YL that had their first farrowing between July 1989 and December 2013. The 8-trait animal model included the fixed effects of first farrowing year-season, additive genetic group, heterosis of the sow and the litter, age at first farrowing, and days to weaning (NPW1, LTWW1, NPW2+, and LTWW2+). Random effects were animal and residual. Results: Heritability estimates ranged from $0.08{\pm}0.02$ (NBA1 and NPW1) to $0.29{\pm}0.02$ (NPW2+). Genetic correlations between reproduction traits in the first parity and from second to last parity ranged from $0.17{\pm}0.08$ (LTBW1 and LTBW2+) to $0.67{\pm}0.06$ (LTWW1 and LTWW2+). Phenotypic correlations between reproduction traits in the first parity and from second to last parity were close to zero. Rank correlations between LTWW1 and LTWW2+ estimated breeding value tended to be higher than for other pairs of traits across all replacement percentages. Conclusion: These rank correlations indicated that selecting boars and sows using genetic predictions for first parity reproduction traits would help improve reproduction traits in the second and later parities as well as lifetime productivity in this swine population.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.640-650
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• 2020

Objective: Although the slaughter of cull sows (CS) for human consumption and meat products processing appears quite common throughout the world, relatively limited scientific information regarding the meat quality parameters of this pork type is available. The present study aimed at providing the technological quality characteristics and eating quality of CS meat, and comparing with those of commercial pork. Methods: Longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle samples of CS and finisher pigs (FP) at 24 h postmortem were collected and used for investigation of the meat quality traits (pH, color, shear force, cooking loss, water holding capacity), fatty acids, flavor compounds and sensory characteristics. Results: The CS meat had significantly higher moisture content (p = 0.0312) and water holding capacity (p = 0.0213) together with lower cooking loss (p = 0.0366) compared to the FP meat. The CS meat also exhibited higher (p = 0.0409) contents of unsaturated fatty acids, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA, p = 0.0213) and more desirable PUFA/total saturated fatty acids ratio (p = 0.0438) compared to the FP meat. A total of 56 flavor compounds were identified, amongst the amount of 16 compounds differed significantly between the two pork groups. Most of the PUFA-derived flavor compounds (e.g., hexanal, benzaldehyde, and hydrocarbons) showed higher amounts in the CS meat. While, 3-(methylthio)-propanal and 4-methylthiazole associated with pleasant aromas (meaty and roast odor notes) were only found in the FP meat. Furthermore, no differences were reported by panelists for flavor, juiciness, tenderness, and acceptability scores between the two pork groups studied. Conclusion: The sow meat exhibited better technological quality and its eating quality could be comparable to the commercial pork. This study provides meat processors and traders with valuably scientific information which may help to improve the utilization and consumption level of sow meat.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.525-536
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• 2004

The objective of this study was to identify the quantitative traits loci(QTL) for meat quality traits in pigs. Three-generation resource population was constructed from a cross between Korean native boars and Landrace sows. The resource population including founders, $F_1$ and $F_2$ was genotyped for 23 microsatellite markers on chromosome 7. The sex average total length of linkage map on chromosome 7 was estimated 154.6 cM. Meat quality traits including meat pH, meat color, drip loss, shear force, heating loss, crude fat, crude protein, crude ash and water content in muscle were collected from $F_2$ animals. For the QTL mapping, we used $F_2$ QTL Analysis Servlet of QTL express for web-based QTL mapping tools(http://qtl.cap.ed.ac.uk/). The QTLs for CIE-a and CIE-b on SSC7 were significantly detected at 1% and 5% chromosome-wide level, respectively.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.121-129
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary leucine supplementation on mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism in the liver of normal birth weight (NBW) and intrauterine growth-retarded (IUGR) weanling piglets. MATERIALS/METHODS: A total of sixteen pairs of NBW and IUGR piglets from sixteen sows were selected according to their birth weight. At postnatal day 14, all piglets were weaned and fed either a control diet or a leucine-supplemented diet for 21 d. Thereafter, a $2{\times}2$ factorial experimental design was used. Each treatment consisted of eight replications with one piglet per replication. RESULTS: Compared with NBW piglets, IUGR piglets had a decreased (P < 0.05) hepatic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content. Also, IUGR piglets exhibited reductions (P < 0.05) in the activities of hepatic mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), citrate synthase (CS), ${\alpha}$-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (${\alpha}$-KGDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), and complexes I and V, along with decreases (P < 0.05) in the concentration of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the protein expression of hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-${\gamma}$ coactivator $1{\alpha}$ (PGC-$1{\alpha}$). Dietary leucine supplementation increased (P < 0.05) the content of ATP, and the activities of CS, ${\alpha}$-KGDH, MDH, and complex V in the liver of piglets. Furthermore, compared to those fed a control diet, piglets given a leucine-supplemented diet exhibited increases (P < 0.05) in the mtDNA content and in the mRNA expressions of sirtuin 1, PGC-$1{\alpha}$, nuclear respiratory factor 1, mitochondrial transcription factor A, and ATP synthase, $H^+$ transporting, mitochondrial F1 complex, ${\beta}$ polypeptide in liver. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary leucine supplementation may exert beneficial effects on mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism in NBW and IUGR weanling piglets.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.457-464
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• 2008

Heritability and genetic correlation for reproductive traits in Yorkshire pig breed were estimated using Bayesian method via Gibbs sampling. The data set consisted of 9,609 reproductive records at pig breeding farm in Korea. For estimating those parameters using Gibbs sampling, 5,000 cycles of ‘burn-in’ period were discarded among a total of 55,000 samples. Out of the remaining 50,000 samples, 5,000 estimates by each parameter were retained and used for analyses to avoid any correlation among adjacent samples. The reproductive trait considered in this study were total number of born piglets(TNB) and estimated by two different models. The estimated heritability and permanent environmental effect using Gibbs sampler were 0.12±0.020 and 10.9±1.63, respectively. Estimated genetic correlations considered parities as different traits were distributed from 0.99 to －0.13. Such results indicated that reproductive traits for sows should be considered as different traits.