potential of individual animals cannot be estimated for those traits. Metabolomic selection may be of particular benefit for traits such as meat quality, as this is difficult to measure in live selection candidates, and information is typically only available from full- or half-siblings that have been slaughtered.
A joint research project The DanBred breeding programme is the Danish pig breed- ing programme with a long and solid history of developing and implementing the newest sophisticated breeding tech- nology. For example, genomic selection, including DNA- testing of all breeding candidates, has been an integral part of the breeding programme since 2010. Now, the company aspires to set the pace for a new form of selection with a joint research project on metabolomic selection in pigs and barley, which kicked off in January 2020. The research project aims to develop new methods to ex- ploit metabolomics for genetic gain and to evaluate the po- tential for metabolomic selection in pigs through collabora- tion with the Danish Pig Research Centre (DPRC), Nordic Seed and Aarhus University (AU). The breeding company specifically aims to increase genetic gain for feed efficiency and meat quality. The project is partially funded with about € 1.1 million from the Green Development and Demonstration Programme from the Ministry of Environment and Food in Denmark.
Improved feed efficiency and CO2
emission
emission. This, as with all effects of genetic selection, will be permanent and cumulative across generations – and this will naturally be profitable for pig producers. DanBred calcu- lated that by 2050, the feed-to-growth ratio will be reduced by approximately 0.3 kilogrammes of feed per kg growth – on top of what would be expected when metabolomic selection is not taken into consideration. That would correspond to a cost reduction of approximately € 5.40 per pig and a yearly re- duction in CO2 CO2 equivalents.
The additional predicted improvements in feed efficiency and progressive reduction in feed intake will also lead to reduced CO2
emissions corresponding to 150,000 tonnes of
Meat quality to benefit consumers Quality of the pork meat is an important aspect for consum- ers, and meat quality is therefore also an integral part of the project. That is why measuring the levels of intramuscular fat is also a key focus. Meat quality is traditionally measured in slaughtered animals, which restricts the possibility of measuring phenotypes from a large number of breeding candidates. It is expected that metabolomic selection will contribute essential new knowl- edge about meat quality in DanBred Duroc, which is in high demand, particularly in Southern Europe. Moreover, it will en- able targeted products for markets that have a preference for pork with a specific meat quality.
▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 9, 2020 29
The nuclear magnetic reso- nance (NMR) measurements are made based on blood sam- ples from pigs by using an NMR spectrometer
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