Systems biology of piglet maturity with focus on muscle metabolism

In recent decades, there has been improvement of sow prolificacy and body composition but the genetic progress has been accompanied by a substantial increase in piglet mortality before weaning. The most critical period is the first 48 hours after birth. The maturity of piglets, defined as the state of full development for survival at birth, is an important determinant of early mortality. The objective of our project is to take advantage of current knowledge about two pig breeds, Large White piglets with increased mortality and Meishan piglets being more robust at birth. Maturity of several tissues and metabolite profiles of various fluids were analyzed on the fetuses (LW, MS and reciprocal …