Indigenous Okinawa Agu pigs are crossed with Large White × Landrace (WL) pigs to improve their meat production, but there is little information regarding the crossbreeding effects. The study aims to compare growth, carcass characteristics, and meat qualities of Agu pigs with those of WL crossbreeds with Agu sires (WLA) or Duroc sires (WLD). WLA pigs showed better growth performance and carcass characteristics and less intramuscular fat (IMF) contents than Agu ones, but they had higher fat deposition, smaller longissimus dorsi muscle area, and higher IMF contents than WLD pigs. Agu pigs showed higher water holding capacity than the other two breeds. The inner layer of Agu backfat contains higher and lower proportions of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), respectively, than that in WLD animals. WLA animals had intermediate values for the fatty acid content in the inner backfat, although MUFA contents were equal to those of Agu pigs. Fatty acid profiles in IMF were similar to those in the backfat. These results indicate that crossbreeding of Agu with WL pigs improves growth performance and carcass quality. Particularly, WLA pigs have higher IMF contents and MUFA concentrations and lower PUFA concentrations than WLD pigs.

Comparison of growth performances, carcass characteristics, and meat qualities of Okinawan indigenous Agu pigs and crossbred pigs sired by Agu or Duroc boar.

Kapok seed and oil from the tropical zone are widely used as pig feed to harden porcine fat in Japan. This study evaluated the effect of dietary kapok oil supplementation on pork quality and sensory traits. Five Duroc pigs each were assigned to an experimental group supplemented with kapok oil and a control group. Dietary kapok oil supplementation had no effect on growth performance and intramuscular fat content in the Longissimus dorsi muscle (LM). Supplemental kapok oil increased saturated fatty acid contents in subcutaneous and intramuscular fat and decreased monounsaturated fatty acid levels (P < 0.05). Off-flavor detection by a trained panel was higher in the experimental than the control group (P < 0.05), but tenderness, juiciness, texture and flavor intensity of LM chops were similar in both groups. The overall palatability of pork as judged by a consumer panel decreased with kapok oil supplementation (P < 0.01). These results indicate that while growth performance, intramuscular fat contents and carcass characteristics were unchanged, while dietary kapok oil supplementation makes firm fat to prevent inferior soft fat in pork, it can lower the palatability of pork due to a decrease in monounsaturated fatty acids.

Effect of dietary kapok oil supplementation on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality and sensory traits of pork in finishing-pigs.

Agu, a relatively small-bodied pig with a black coat, is indigenous to Okinawa, the southernmost island in Japan. The objective of this study was to evaluate growth, carcass and meat quality traits of Agu pigs and to elucidate breed characteristics. A total of 16 Agu pigs and 18 LWD three-way cross pigs (Duroc sires×F1 dams ; Landrace×Large White) were fed a commercial diet ad libitum at 70 kg and slaughtered at 110 kg. Daily gain, dressing percentage and the area of the Longissimus dorsi muscle (LM) were significantly lower in Agu than in LWD pigs at the same body weight. Agu pigs had much thicker backfat than the LWD pigs at the same finishing body weight. The content of intramuscular fat (IMF) was significantly higher in Agu than in LWD pigs. Though raw Agu meat had lower water holding capacity, cooked meat had lower cooking loss and higher pressed juice percentage than LWDmeat. Moreover, the inner layer of Agu backfat contained a higher proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), a lower proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and had a lower melting point. The results revealed that Agu pigs had meat characteristics different from those of LWD pigs that are a common crossbred in commercial production. Jpn. J. Swine Science, 54, 3 : 121-129

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Breed Characteristics of Indigenous Pigs in Okinawa :Growth Performance, Carcass Traits and Meat Quality

The partial replacement of a commercial concentrate at 10-20% and 15-30% (the first percentage of each dietary treatment corresponded to weeks 1-3 and the second to weeks 4-7 of the experiment, respectively) by sweet potato meal (SPM; 70% foliage: 30% roots) was evaluated for growth performance, carcass yield, instrumental and sensory pork quality using 36 commercial crossbred pigs (56.8 ± 1.3 kg initial body weight). Three dietary treatments were compared in a randomized complete block design. Most growth, carcass traits and pork quality variables were not affected by the SPM inclusion. Growth performance averaged 868 g/day and feed efficiency 0.24 kg/kg. However, feed intake increased 2.2% (P = 0.04) in pigs fed the 10-20% SPM diets, in a similar order of magnitude as the decrease in dietary energy. Despite an increase in gastrointestinal tract as a percent of hot carcass weight (+14.7%) (P = 0.03) with SPM inclusion, carcass yield averaged 69.4%. Conversely, decreases in loin yield (-4.2%) (P = 0.05), backfat thickness (-6.0%) (P < 0.01) and pork tenderness (-13%) (P = 0.02) were observed with 15-30% SPM inclusion. Results suggest that up to 20% SPM inclusion is a viable feed strategy for finishing pigs, easily replicable in small farm settings. © 2016 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

Effect of including sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Lam) meal in finishing pig diets on growth performance, carcass traits and pork quality

Lysine (Lys) is majorly metabolized in the liver. The liver functional consequences of a dietary Lys deficiency in young Holstein calves are unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Lys deficiency in Holstein calf livers using RNA-sequencing and untargeted LC–MS metabolomics. Calves (n = 36; initial body weight 101.2 ± 10.8 kg; 90-day-old) were fed restricted diets, for 90 days, containing 19.2% crude protein that varied in Lys content (PC group 1.21%; PC-Lys group 0.85%; dry matter basis) for 90 days. Body weight, average daily gain, gain/feed, and Lys intake were significantly decreased in response to Lys deficiency (P   0.05). Network and pathway analyses revealed that noradrenaline, adenosine 5′-monophosphate, acetyl-CoA, and coenzyme A were significantly decreased. Regulating of lipolysis in adipocytes pathway and fatty acid degradation pathway were downregulated. We also identified eight significantly differentially expressed genes (SDEGs), among which adrenoceptor beta 2 (ADRB2), WAP four-disulfide core domain 2 (WFDC2), and claudin-4 (CLDN4) were associated with inhibition of lipolysis, and carbon catabolite repression 4-like (CCRN4L), FOS like 2 (FOSL2), and arginase 2 (ARG2) were associated with inhibiting lipid synthesis. Correlation tests showed that coenzyme A was strongly correlated with SDEGs (0.82 ≤|r|≤ 0.96). Acetyl-CoA and adenosine 5′-monophosphate were strongly correlated with CCRN4L (0.90 ≤|r|≤ 0.92), indicating a strong correlation between the changes in SDEGs and these metabolites. In conclusion, Lys deficiency caused dysplasia and affected lipid metabolism in the liver by inhibiting lipolysis and lipid synthesis in calves.

Integrating RNA-sequencing and untargeted LC-MS metabolomics to evaluate the effect of lysine deficiency on hepatic functions in Holstein calves.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary lysine/protein ratio and fat levels on the growth, carcass characteristics and meat quality of finishing pigs fed feed made from food waste, including noodles and chocolate. Four dietary treatments, 2 levels of lysine/protein ratio (0.035 and 0.046) and 2 levels of fat (3.3% and 6.0%), were adapted to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Each diet for the finishing pigs contained the same levels of adequate crude protein (16%) and lysine (0.58–0.75%), and similar levels of high total digestible nutrients (90.2–92.6%). In total, 32 LWD pigs with an average body weight of 57.2 kg were assigned to 4 dietary groups. The pigs were slaughtered at about 115 kg. Growth performance was not influenced by the dietary treatments. Carcass characteristics were slightly influenced by the dietary fat level. As the dietary lysine/protein ratio decreased, the marbling score of Longissimus dorsi muscle increased and the intramuscular fat (IMF) increased from 6.82% to 9.46%. Marbling score was not significantly influenced by the dietary fat level. These results indicate that IMF increased without adverse effects on growth, carcass characteristics and meat quality, when pigs were fed a diet with low lysine/protein ratio.

Fumika Yamamoto

Papers

Effects of dietary lysine/protein ratio and fat levels on growth performance and meat quality of finishing pigs.