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Nielsen B, Horndrup LV, Turner SP, Christensen OF, Nielsen HM, Ask B. Selection for social genetic effects in purebred pigs improves behaviour and handling of their crossbred progeny. Genet Sel Evol 2023; 55:54. [PMID: 37491205 PMCID: PMC10367277 DOI: 10.1186/s12711-023-00828-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In commercial pig production, reduction of harmful social behavioural traits, such as ear manipulation and tail biting, is of major interest. Moreover, farmers prefer animals that are easy to handle. The aim of this experiment was to determine whether selection on social breeding values (SBV) for growth rate in purebred pigs affects behaviour in a weighing crate, lesions from ear manipulation, and tail biting of their crossbred progeny. Data were collected on crossbred F1 pigs allocated to 274 pens, which were progeny of purebred Landrace sows and Yorkshire boars from a DanBred nucleus herd. RESULTS Behaviour in the weighing crate scored on a three-level scale showed that groups of pigs with high SBV for growth rate were significantly calmer than groups of pigs with low SBV (P < 0.027). When the mean SBV in the group increased by 1 unit, the proportion of pigs that obtained a calmer score level was increased by 14%. A significant (p = 0.04), favourable effect of SBV was found on both the number of pigs with ear lesions in the group and the mean number of ear lesions per pig. For a 1 unit increase in mean SBV, the mean number of lesions per pig decreased by 0.06 from a mean of 0.98. Individual severity of ear lesions conditional upon the number of ear lesions was also significantly affected (p = 0.05) by the mean SBV in the group. In groups for which the mean SBV increased by 1 unit, the proportion of pigs that were observed with a lower severity score was increased by 20% on a three-level scale. Most pigs received no tail biting injuries and no effect of SBV was observed on the tail injury score. CONCLUSIONS After 7 weeks in the finisher unit, crossbred progeny with high SBV were calmer in the weighing crate and had fewer ear lesions. These results indicate that selection of purebred parents for SBV for growth rate will increase welfare in their crossbred progeny by decreasing the number of ear lesions and making them easier to handle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bjarne Nielsen
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, C. F. Møllers Allé 3, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.
- Breeding and Genetics, Pig, Danish Agriculture and Food Council F.M.B.A., Axelborg, Axeltorv 3, 1609, Copenhagen V, Denmark.
| | - Lizette Vestergaard Horndrup
- Breeding and Genetics, Pig, Danish Agriculture and Food Council F.M.B.A., Axelborg, Axeltorv 3, 1609, Copenhagen V, Denmark
| | - Simon P Turner
- Animal and Veterinary Sciences, SRUC, Roslin Institute Building, Easter Bush, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Ole Fredslund Christensen
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, C. F. Møllers Allé 3, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Hanne Marie Nielsen
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, C. F. Møllers Allé 3, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Breeding and Genetics, Pig, Danish Agriculture and Food Council F.M.B.A., Axelborg, Axeltorv 3, 1609, Copenhagen V, Denmark
| | - Birgitte Ask
- Breeding and Genetics, Pig, Danish Agriculture and Food Council F.M.B.A., Axelborg, Axeltorv 3, 1609, Copenhagen V, Denmark
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Blirup-Plum SA, Jensen HE, Nielsen SS, Pankoke K, Hansen MS, Pedersen KS, Eriksen EØ, Nielsen JP, Olsen JE, Kudirkiene E, Larsen LE, Goecke NB, Barington K. Gastro-intestinal lesions are not relatable to diarrhoea or specific pathogens in post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD) in pigs. Acta Vet Scand 2023; 65:30. [PMID: 37400879 DOI: 10.1186/s13028-023-00693-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD) is a multifactorial condition and the most well documented infectious cause is enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. The objective of the study was to investigate possible associations between pathological manifestations and pathogens in pigs with and without PWD. The study was conducted as a case-control study and included a total of 173 pigs from 9 different commercial intensive indoor production herds in eastern Denmark. RESULTS Based on clinical examination, a total of 89 piglets with PWD (cases) and 84 piglets without PWD (controls) were included. Most of the pigs (n = 105/173) presented gastric lesions, which were more frequently observed in the control group. The odds of gastric ulcers were lower among pigs with PWD compared to pigs without PWD with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.2 (0.0; 0.7). Abnormal content in the colon was associated with PWD, with an OR of 6.5 (3.2; 14.3). No apparent association was found between lesions and the various pathogens or a combination of these. The odds of neutrophilic granulocyte infiltration were lower in the jejunum among pigs with PWD (OR 0.3 [0.1; 0.6]) compared to pigs without PWD. The association between neutrophilic granulocyte infiltration in jejunum and PWD differed between the herds (P = 0.03). Furthermore, the associations between PWD and hyperleukocytosis (P = 0.04) or infiltration of eosinophilic granulocytes (P = 0.04) in ileum were also herd dependent. Histopathology revealed several lesions not relatable to PWD. CONCLUSION The association between lesions and specific pathogens or PWD is more complex than anticipated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Amalie Blirup-Plum
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 7, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
| | - Henrik Elvang Jensen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 7, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Søren Saxmose Nielsen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 7, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Karen Pankoke
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 7, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Mette Sif Hansen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 7, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Ken Steen Pedersen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 7, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
- Ø-Vet A/S, 4700, Næstved, Denmark
| | - Esben Østergaard Eriksen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 7, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Jens Peter Nielsen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 7, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - John Elmerdahl Olsen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 7, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Egle Kudirkiene
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 7, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Lars Erik Larsen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 7, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Nicole Bakkegård Goecke
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 7, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Kristiane Barington
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 7, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
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Kjær LJ, Klitgaard K, Soleng A, Edgar KS, Lindstedt HEH, Paulsen KM, Andreassen ÅK, Korslund L, Kjelland V, Slettan A, Stuen S, Kjellander P, Christensson M, Teräväinen M, Baum A, Jensen LM, Bødker R. Spatial patterns of pathogen prevalence in questing Ixodes ricinus nymphs in southern Scandinavia, 2016. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19376. [PMID: 33168841 PMCID: PMC7652892 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76334-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Tick-borne pathogens cause diseases in animals and humans, and tick-borne disease incidence is increasing in many parts of the world. There is a need to assess the distribution of tick-borne pathogens and identify potential risk areas. We collected 29,440 tick nymphs from 50 sites in Scandinavia from August to September, 2016. We tested ticks in a real-time PCR chip, screening for 19 vector-associated pathogens. We analysed spatial patterns, mapped the prevalence of each pathogen and used machine learning algorithms and environmental variables to develop predictive prevalence models. All 50 sites had a pool prevalence of at least 33% for one or more pathogens, the most prevalent being Borrelia afzelii, B. garinii, Rickettsia helvetica, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Neoehrlichia mikurensis. There were large differences in pathogen prevalence between sites, but we identified only limited geographical clustering. The prevalence models performed poorly, with only models for R. helvetica and N. mikurensis having moderate predictive power (normalized RMSE from 0.74-0.75, R2 from 0.43-0.48). The poor performance of the majority of our prevalence models suggest that the used environmental and climatic variables alone do not explain pathogen prevalence patterns in Scandinavia, although previously the same variables successfully predicted spatial patterns of ticks in the same area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lene Jung Kjær
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark.
| | - Kirstine Klitgaard
- Department for Diagnostics and Scientific Advice, National Veterinary Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Arnulf Soleng
- Department of Pest Control, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | | | | | - Katrine M Paulsen
- Department of Virology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Lars Korslund
- Department of Natural Sciences, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
| | - Vivian Kjelland
- Department of Natural Sciences, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
- Research Unit, Sørlandet Hospital Health Enterprise, Kristiansand, Norway
| | - Audun Slettan
- Department of Natural Sciences, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
| | - Snorre Stuen
- Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Section of Small Ruminant Research, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Sandnes, Norway
| | - Petter Kjellander
- Department of Ecology, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Riddarhyttan, Sweden
| | - Madeleine Christensson
- Department of Ecology, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Riddarhyttan, Sweden
| | - Malin Teräväinen
- Department of Ecology, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Riddarhyttan, Sweden
| | - Andreas Baum
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Laura Mark Jensen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - René Bødker
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
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