Search Results (110)

Maternal nutrition during gestation and lactation influences offspring development and metabolic health. Lecithin, a crucial phospholipid commonly used in animal diets to improve lipid absorption and energy metabolism, is a viable approach to optimize this synergy and improve neonatal resilience. This study aimed to investigate the regulation mechanism of maternal lecithin supplementation during late gestation and lactation on the growth performance and hepatic glycolipid metabolism of offspring. Twenty-four multiparous sows were randomly allocated to receive either a control (CON) diet or a lecithin-supplemented diet (2 kg/t lecithin) on day 95 of gestation until weaning (day 21 postpartum). Blood samples were collected from sows during late gestation and on day 21 of lactation, as well as from umbilical cords and weaned piglets at 21 days. Results showed that suckling piglets from lecithin group had faster growth rate, especially during 1–7 d of suckling period. Lecithin supplement reduced the serum cholesterol of pregnant sows, while not affected it in serum of umbilical cord. In contrast, both the serum cholesterol and glucose level presented upward trend in lactating sows in the lecithin group. Accordingly, maternal lecithin supplement increased the serum glucose level, as well as the levels of hepatic lipid and glucose levels, accompanied by decreasing the hepatic levels of certain long-chain fatty acids of 21-day-old piglets compared with the CON group. Furthermore, maternal lecithin supplement activated hepatic glycolipid metabolism via regulating the mRNA level of hepatic gluconeogenesis and lipid synthesis in 21-day-old piglets. In short, this study demonstrated that maternal lecithin supplementation improved hepatic energy homeostasis in offspring by activating gluconeogenesis and optimizing lipid storage, thereby enhancing neonatal growth performance and metabolic resilience for weaning challenges. Full article

To accelerate maturation of intestinal function and promote growth and development, the effect of maternal clofibrate on intestinal fatty acid (FA) metabolism was investigated in suckling piglets. Twenty-seven pregnant sows were fed either 0, 0.25, or 0.5% clofibrate, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) agonist, during late gestation and early lactation. [1-¹⁴C]-Oleic acid metabolism was measured in vitro in intestinal mucosa of piglets with/without L-carnitine and/or malonate. Clofibrate increased oleic acid metabolism on d1, and the increase was higher from 0.5% than 0.25% of maternal clofibrate (p < 0.005). Flux to CO₂ increased with age, while flux to acid-soluble products (ASP) remained constant after d1. Flux to esterified products (ESP) increased on d7, but the increase was dampened by clofibrate (p < 0.0001). Carnitine increased flux to CO_2, and malonate decreased it (p < 0.0001), but neither affected ASP or ESP. Intestinal non-esterified FA and triglyceride levels decreased linearly, and carnitine palmitoyl-transferase (CPT) activity increased quadratically with age. Clofibrate increased acyl-CoA oxidase (ACOX) abundance but decreased the ratio of CPT1A and CPT1B on d1. Postnatal age increased FA binding protein 2 (FABP2) but decreased PPARα. In conclusion, maternal supplementation of clofibrate promotes intestinal energy generation from fat oxidation in postnatal piglets, but the stimulation is influenced by age, in which ACOX, FABP2, and CPT1 might play modulatory roles. Full article

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a highly contagious coronavirus that causes severe diarrhea, dehydration, and high mortality in piglets, leading to significant economic losses in the swine industry. The spike (S) protein of PEDV is the primary target for neutralizing antibodies and is critical for vaccine development. In this study, the pUC57-S01 and pUC57-S02 plasmids carrying the codon-optimized truncated S gene sequence were constructed. The mRNA S01 showed higher protein expression in vitro than mRNA S02, as confirmed by Western blotting. The safety and immunogenicity of mRNA S01 were evaluated in animal experiments. The results indicated that the mRNA S01 vaccine was safe for piglets and pregnant sows. Immunogenicity was assessed by a neutralization assay, which revealed that encapsulated mRNA S01 induced high levels of neutralizing antibody titers in pigs. Challenge protection efficiency tests showed that the mRNA S01 vaccine conferred immunity to newborn piglets, protecting them from a homologous PEDV strain challenge. This study provides a foundation for the clinical application of PEDV mRNA vaccines and offers a reference for the development of novel vaccines against PEDV. Full article

Based on an established appropriate substitution level for corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGSs) replacing energy-supplying components in the basal diet for pregnant sows, the substitution method was employed to determine the available energy values of corn DDGSs. In Exp. 1, forty pregnant sows (gestation day = 50 ± 5 d; body weight = 220 ± 24.9 kg; parity, 4 to 6) were randomly allocated into five treatments. The control group was fed a corn–soybean basal diet, while test diets contained 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% corn DDGSs replacing the energy-supplying portion of the basal diet. In Exp. 2, the available energy of five corn DDGS sources was determined using the substitution method at a 30% substitution level. Twelve pregnant sows (gestation day = 50 ± 5 d; body weight = 225.4 ± 29.2 kg; parity, 4 to 6) were arranged in a 6 × 3 Youden square design. Dietary treatments consisted of the corn–soybean basic diet and five test diets incorporating different corn DDGS types. Increasing the substitution level of corn DDGSs displayed both linear and quadratic effects (p < 0.05) on the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), acid detergent fiber (ADF), ether extract (EE) and gross energy (GE) in diets. The ATTD of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) was quadratically affected by different substitution levels (p < 0.05), with the highest value achieved at the 30% substitution level. As the substitution level of corn DDGSs increased, the ATTD of ADF in corn DDGSs decreased. In contrast, the ATTD of crude protein (CP) increased either linearly or quadratically (p < 0.05), and a significant quadratic effect was observed for the ATTD of EE in corn DDGSs (p < 0.05). Although the GE, DE, and ME of corn DDGSs were not significantly influenced by the substitution level, the 30% corn DDGSs resulted in the lowest coefficients of variation (CV). Therefore, a 30% substitution level of corn DDGSs is recommended for energy-supplying components in the basal diet of pregnant sows using the substitution method. The ranges of DE, ME and net energy (NE) of five corn DDGSs samples were 15.58–18.07, 12.17–16.42 and 8.76–15.88 MJ/kg DM, respectively. The absolute value of relative error (|RE|) between the predicted available energy values obtained from the prediction equations established in Exp. 2 and the determined values were below 5%, except for ME for corn DDGSs N3 (5.81%). Full article

Stress in pigs poses significant challenges to animal welfare and productivity in modern pig farming, contributing to increased antimicrobial use and the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study involves stress classification in pregnant sows by exploring five deep learning models: ConvNeXt, EfficientNet_V2, MobileNet_V3, RegNet, and Vision Transformer (ViT). These models are used for stress detection from facial images, leveraging an expanded dataset. A facial image dataset of sows was collected at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the images were categorized into primiparous Low-Stressed (LS) and High-Stress (HS) groups based on expert behavioural assessments and cortisol level analysis. The selected deep learning models were then trained on this enriched dataset and their performance was evaluated using cross-validation on unseen data. The Vision Transformer (ViT) model outperformed the others across the dataset of annotated facial images, achieving an average accuracy of 0.75, an F1 score of 0.78 for high-stress detection, and consistent batch-level performance (up to 0.88 F1 score). These findings highlight the efficacy of transformer-based models for automated stress detection in sows, supporting early intervention strategies to enhance welfare, optimize productivity, and mitigate AMR risks in livestock production. Full article

Background/Objectives: Classical swine fever (CSF) continues to challenge global eradication efforts, particularly in endemic regions, where pregnant sows face heightened risks of vertical transmission following exposure to CSFV. Methods: This study evaluates the early protective efficacy of FlagT4G, a novel live attenuated DIVA-compatible vaccine. Pregnant sows were vaccinated at mid-gestation and challenged 14 days later with a highly virulent CSFV strain. Results: FlagT4G conferred complete clinical protection, preventing both maternal viremia and transplacental transmission. No CSFV RNA, specific antibodies, or IFN-α were detected in fetal samples from vaccinated animals. In contrast, unvaccinated sows exhibited clinical signs, high viral loads, and widespread fetal infection. Interestingly, early protection was observed even in the absence of strong humoral responses in some vaccinated sows, suggesting a potential role for innate or T-cell-mediated immunity in conferring rapid protection. Conclusions: The demonstrated efficacy of FlagT4G within two weeks of vaccination underscores its feasibility for integration into emergency vaccination programs. Its DIVA compatibility and ability to induce early fetal protection against highly virulent CSFV strains position it as a promising tool for CSF control and eradication strategies. Full article

Understanding protein and amino acid deposition in pregnant gilts is important for developing nutritional strategies that meet these demands and enhance reproductive performance. Current models, such as the NRC (2012) gestating sow model, assume a constant proportional protein and amino acid content in tissues throughout pregnancy. However, empirical data suggest that gestational tissue growth and composition change dynamically. In this study, we developed a gestation model that characterizes the dynamic changes in growth, crude protein, and amino acid deposition throughout gestation. Based on a systematized search of published data, mathematical functions were developed to estimate daily protein and amino acid deposition in key tissues, including allantoic and amniotic fluid, uterus, placenta, fetus, mammary gland, and maternal body. Our results suggest that dietary crude protein levels and amino acid profiles should be adjusted to meet metabolic demands, particularly in early gestation, where a potential nutritional deficiency was identified. Additionally, the amino acid profile of deposited protein shifts during late gestation, suggesting a changing demand for specific amino acids. These findings challenge existing models and highlight the need for adaptive dietary strategies that better align with pregnancy’s biological demands. By refining protein and amino acid deposition estimates, this study provides a framework guiding future research on precision feeding, ultimately improving gilt and sow reproductive performance. Full article

Late gestation is a critical period for regulating maternal peripartum physiological metabolism and gut microbiota balance. Fermented diets have been widely recognized as effective exogenous nutritional interventions capable of modulating the maintenance of gut microbiota homeostasis. However, the mechanism through which fermented diets modulate the gut microbiota in late-gestation remains poorly understood. In this study, an in vitro fermentation model combined with chemical composition analysis, untargeted metabolomics, and high-throughput sequencing was employed to investigate the metabolic alterations during soybean meal (SBM) fermentation and the regulatory effects of fermented soybean meal (FSBM) on gut microbiota of late-gestation sows. The findings revealed that fermentation significantly increased the levels of crude protein, lactic acid, acid-soluble protein, lysine, histidine, and total amino acids of SBM. Conversely, the levels of crude fiber, NDF, ADF, starch, and non-starch polysaccharides were markedly reduced, compared to the unfermented group. A total of 941 differentially expressed metabolites were identified between SBM and FSBM. Specifically, FSBM elevated the levels of lactic acid, L-pyroglutamic acid, 2-aminoisobutyric acid, and tyrosine, while substantially decreasing the levels of raffinose, sucrose, and stachyose. Metabolic pathway analysis identified glutathione metabolism, tyrosine metabolism, and pantothenate and coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis as the key pathways involved in SBM fermentation. In vitro fermentation experiments demonstrated that FSBM substantially increased the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and notably increased the relative abundance of sows gut commensal Lactobacillus and Limosilactobacillus in late gestation. In summary, this study demonstrated that co-fermentation with bacteria and enzymes pretreatment of soybean meal reduced fiber components and enriched bioactive metabolites, optimizing intestinal microbial composition and increasing SCFA production in late-pregnant period. The present study provides novel insights into the regulatory effects of fermented diets on gut microbiota in late-gestation period from the perspectives of nutritional composition and metabolites. Full article

The prenatal environment critically influences sow and offspring health, with the liver being highly susceptible to heat stress (HS) and vital for antioxidant defense. However, mechanisms underlying HS impacts on early pregnancy and hepatic adaptation remain unclear. This study applied multi-omics to analyze chronic HS responses in early-pregnancy sows. Results demonstrated that HS reduced blood oxygen (PO₂) and basophils while elevating red blood cell parameters (RBC, HGB, and HCT). Endocrine disruptions included upregulated adrenal hormones (ACTH and cortisol) and suppressed thyroid (T3 and TSH) and reproductive hormones (LH1 and FSH). Liver dysfunction was evident through elevated biomarkers (AST, ALT, and TBIL) and pro-inflammatory IL-6, coupled with reduced anti-inflammatory IL-10. HS induced oxidative stress, marked by increased total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) but decreased SOD and MDA levels. Liver tissue exhibited apoptosis (Bax/CD8 upregulated and Bcl-2 downregulated) and upregulated heat shock proteins (HSP70/90). Multi-omics analysis demonstrated that under heat stress conditions, the pyrimidine metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, and tryptophan metabolism pathways were significantly upregulated in the liver. This upregulation may be mediated by key metabolites, including AMP, NAD, and UMP. These metabolites likely contribute to the body’s adaptation to heat stress. Chronic HS impaired liver function and anti-inflammatory responses but triggered compensatory antioxidant and metabolic reprogramming. These findings underscore the liver’s dual characteristics of vulnerability and resilience under high-temperature stress, offering valuable mechanistic insights that can inform strategies to enhance heat tolerance in pregnant sows. Full article

Neonatal diarrhea causes significant economic losses in swine production by reducing average daily weight gain (ADWG) and increasing piglet mortality, with Clostridioides difficile (CD) and Clostridium perfringens type A (CPA) being the most common causes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a new commercial vaccine against these agents to minimize diarrhea, pre-weaning mortality, and its negative consequences on weight performance in suckling piglets under field conditions. The study consisted of two randomized, double-blind, negative-controlled field trials (Study A and B) focusing on clinically healthy pregnant sows from commercial pig farms experiencing recurrent neonatal diarrhea. In the meta-analysis of both farms, the control group showed lower performance compared to the vaccine group (least squares means differences) for ADWG (−14.5 g/day, p < 0.001), body weight (−0.33 kg, p < 0.001), and underweight piglets at weaning (6.94%, p = 0.011). The number of piglets with diarrhea (9.76%, p < 0.001) and the percentage of piglets treated with antibiotics for diarrhea (6.09%, p = 0.016) were lower in vaccinated animals compared to controls. No significant differences in pre-weaning mortality were observed. The results of this study suggest that the new commercial vaccine against CD and CPA reduces the incidence of neonatal diarrhea and the associated use of antibiotics, while positively impacts the growth performance of suckling piglets. Full article

The experiment was conducted to determine the interaction effects of parity and DFM supplementation from early gestation (G 21) to lactation (L 21) on reproductive performance, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD), colostrum IgA and IgG, and mature milk composition. Three hundred pregnant sows were blocked by parity (2, 3, 4, 5, and 6–9) and randomly assigned to two experimental diets in a randomized complete block design, with a control (CON, n = 150) group and direct-fed microbial (DFM, n = 150) group. The DFM contained 5 × 10⁷ cfu/g of Bacillus subtilis and 2 × 10⁶ cfu/g of Lactobacillus spp. Reproductive traits recorded included total born (TB), born alive (BA), litter weight (LW), piglets born dead (PBD) weaning weight (WW), number of weaning pig (NWP), and PWM. Two separate 14 d ATTD trials were conducted on G86 to G100 and L7 to L21. Colostrum samples were collected at 0, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h post-partum and mature milks were collected at L7 and L14 for Ig and composition analysis, respectively. Total Ig concentrations were measured by an ELISA. The interaction between diet and parity was found on LW, colostrum IgG, milk lactose, and protein (p < 0.05). Regardless of parity, sows fed DFM had greater reproductive performance with higher BA, LS, LW, and lower in PWM (p < 0.05). DFM also improved the ATTD of organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), and ether extracts (EE) (p < 0.05) at G100 and gross energy (GE), CP, and EE (p < 0.05) at L21. Entire IgG and 3 h post-partum IgA in colostrum were higher in DFM than in the CON diet (p < 0.05). Parity effects were seen on NWP, LW, CP, and EE, colostrum Ig at 12 and 24 post-partum, milk protein, and lactose at L7 (p < 0.05). Moreover, the parity showed linear effect on TB, BA, LW, litter size (LS), WW, total PWM, the ATTD of OM and EE, colostrum IgG at 12 h and IgA at 12 and 24 h post-partum, milk fat at L7 and L21, and milk lactose at L14 (p < 0.05). Stepwise prediction for average colostrum IgG (mg/mL) by using nutrient digestibility = −112.97 + 0.706GE(%) + 0.518CP(%) + 0.267EE(%) (n = 267, R² = 0.38, RSD = 6.7, p < 0.001). In summary, supplementing dietary DFM during early gestation through weaning had positive effects on production, the lifetime of sows, and better nutrient utilization, resulting in better milk quality and better piglet growth. Full article

Clostridioides difficile is an anaerobic bacterium that causes disease in both animals and humans. Despite the known significance of this agent, there are no commercial vaccines available for humans, and only one immunogen is marketed for swine. However, no studies have evaluated this vaccine. Background/Objectives: Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the potency of the first commercial vaccine for C. difficile infection in piglets and to compare the humoral response in rabbits and sows. Methods: Pregnant sows were divided into two groups: a vaccinated group (n = 12), receiving two doses before farrowing, according to the manufacturer’s recommendation, and an unvaccinated control group (n = 6). Blood samples were taken from sows and also from piglets up to two days after birth. In addition, two groups of New Zealand rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) received either a half-dose (G1) or a full-dose (G2) of the vaccine, with a control group receiving sterile saline (0.85%). Rabbits were vaccinated twice, 21 days apart, with blood samples collected before each dose and 14 days after the final dose. A serum neutralization assay in Vero cells was performed to evaluate the titers of neutralizing antibodies. Results: The vaccine demonstrated immunogenicity by stimulating the production of neutralizing antibodies in both rabbits and sows. Additionally, these antibodies were passively transferred to piglets through colostrum, reaching levels comparable to those found in sows. Furthermore, vaccinated rabbits developed antibody titers that do not significantly differ from those obtained in sows and piglets. Conclusions: The tested vaccine can induce a humoral immune response against C. difficile A/B toxins in sows and these antibodies are passively transferred to neonatal piglets through colostrum. Also, the vaccination of rabbits might be a useful alternative for evaluating the potency of vaccines against C. difficile. Full article

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) is one of the most significant infectious agents threatening the global pig industry. Due to its high mutation and recombination rates, the prevalence of PRRSV in domestic pig populations is complex. To better understand the epidemiology of PRRSV, we conducted a large-scale investigation in eastern China, focusing on pig farms with a history of high abortion rates. A total of 14,934 pig samples were collected from 11 sow farms and 53 fattening farms across three provinces. Among these, 13.0% of the collected samples tested positive for PRRSV, with specific prevalence rates of 19.7% in sows and 12.4% in piglets. Genetic evolution analysis of the GP5 gene from 43 PRRSV strains identified in this study revealed that NADC30-like, NADC34-like, and HP-PRRSV were the predominant lineages in domestic pig farms. The NADC30-like genotype was the most dominant and had evolved into three subgenotypes, while the NADC34-like strains had diverged into two subgenotypes. Further analysis of the Nsp2 gene from 18 strains indicated that the NSP2 gene of multiple NADC34-like strains was closely related to that of the NADC30-like, suggesting that the NADC34-like strains are primarily recombinant viruses. Sequence comparison of the Nsp2 gene showed that both NADC30-like and NADC34-like viruses share 111 amino acid deletions at positions 322–433 and 21 amino acid deletions at positions 539–558 in the Nsp2 gene coding region. For the first time, the pathogenicity of a representative NADC34-like virus isolated in China was evaluated in pregnant sow. The results showed that infected sows exhibited an increased body temperature, ear cyanosis, and typical edema and cyanosis of the external genitalia. Moreover, all infected sows experienced miscarriage, with 100% of the aborted piglets being stillbirths exhibiting a high virus load. These findings indicate that this NADC34-like virus is highly virulent to sows. Full article

As one of the most important trace elements required by sows, especially in the late gestation period, iron plays a crucial role in the growth and development of a fetus. To explore the effects of dietary supplementation with ferrous sucrose on the reproductive performance of sows and the hepatic iron stores in offspring, sixty primiparous Landrace × Yorkshire sows on day 95 of gestation with an average body weight of 174.1 ± 7.7 kg were randomly assigned to two groups of a basic diet (control) and a basic diet supplemented with 109 mg/kg ferrous sucrose (FS) in a fully randomized block design. The trial lasted for 20 days. The results showed that maternal supplementation with ferrous sucrose significantly increased litter weight (p = 0.002) in neonatal piglets. Compared with the control group, the serum iron and serum transferrin saturation of farrowing sows increased by 45.67% (p = 0.002) and 37.01% (p = 0.033), respectively, and umbilical cord serum iron (p = 0.012) also increased in the FS group. Finally, the serum iron (p < 0.001) and hepatic iron stores (p = 0.071) of neonatal piglets were both increased to varying degrees. Taken together, supplementation of pregnant sows with ferrous sucrose has positive effects on the growth and hepatic iron stores of their offspring. Full article

This study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal glycerol monolaurate complex (GML) and antibiotic (acetylisovaleryltylosin tartrate, ATLL) supplementation during late gestation and lactation on the reproductive performance of sows and the growth performance of piglets. In total, 64 pregnant sows were randomly divided into control, antibiotic, 0.1% GML, and 0.2% GML groups. The GML shortened their delivery interval and farrowing duration. The ATLL increased the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in sows and piglets and enhanced glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in piglets, while reducing the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) level in sows. The GML tended to increase milk protein in the colostrum and decreased the TNF-α of sows at lactation. Meanwhile, 0.2% GML increased the serum total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity and interleukin-6 level in weaned piglets and decreased the TNF-α level in sows and weaned piglets. Furthermore, ATLL decreased the microbial diversity of sows, and GML tended to increase the microbial diversity of sows and piglets. The ATLL group had an increased relative abundance of Bacteroidota in weaned piglets. The GML decreased the relative abundance of Peptostreptococcales-Tissierellales, Proteobacteria, and the harmful bacteria Romboutsia in sows. Compared with the ATLL group, the 0.2% GML reduced the relative abundance of Bacteroidota in weaned piglets. Interestingly, both ATLL and GML supplementation decreased the relative abundance of harmful bacteria Peptostreptococcaceae in sows. Correlation analysis also found positive effects of ATLL and GML in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant aspects. In conclusion, GML enhanced reproductive and growth performance by improving antioxidant and anti-inflammatory status and maintaining intestinal flora balance, making it a promising alternative to ATLL in future applications. Full article