Impact of amino acid supplementation on the performance, metabolic profile, gene expression and immunological biomarkers of pigs from different body weight categories under sanitary challenge condition

• Grant number: 24/10410-6
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Luciano Hauschild
• Grantee: Luciano Hauschild
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Aline Remus ; Daniel Columbus

Abstract

The aim of this project is to evaluate the impact of dietary supplementation of amino acids (AA) associated or not with intact protein on the performance, metabolic profile, gene expression and immunological biomarkers of pigs from different body weight categories under sanitary challenge condition. A total of 120 castrated male pigs will be randomly distributed in a 2x4 factorial scheme: two weight categories - light (16kg) and heavy (26kg); and four diets - control (CON), diet supplemented with 20% more of the industrial AA (AAi) Met, Tre and Trp (+3AAi), diet supplemented with 20% more Met, Tre, Trp, Val, Leu and Ile ( +6AAi), and a diet with a 20% increase in AA recommendations through an increase in intact protein (Pi) and AAi (Lys, Met, Tre, Trp, Val, Leu and Ile; Pi+AAi). The animals will be housed in two pens (n=60 animals/pen) with poor hygiene conditions that will consist of a sanitary challenge caused by the inoculation of 2 x 109 CFU of Salmonella Typhimurium, low biosecurity control (no daily cleaning) and fresh feces of adult pigs scattered on the concrete floor. The sheds are equipped with an automated feeding system (Automated Intelligent Precision Feeder) capable of individually monitoring the animals' feed intake. The experiment will last 28 days. At the beginning and end of the experimental phase, the performance of the animals (body weight, daily feed intake, daily weight gain and feed conversion) and body composition (deposition of lean mass, fat mass, and bone mineral content) will be evaluated using densiometry equipment. double x-ray (DXA). Blood samples will be collected from all animals on days 0, 7 and 28 of the experimental phase and will be used for analyzes of immunological biomarkers (acute phase proteins and cytokines) and metabolomics. At the end of the experiment, the animals will be slaughtered, and adipose tissue samples will be collected to evaluate gene expression. Carrying out the project will make it possible to advance the understanding of the impact of weight category and AA supplementation on the metabolic profile, gene expression and immunological biomarkers of pigs under sanitary challenge conditions. This knowledge will be of paramount importance in the development of nutritional strategies to mitigate the negative effects of sanitary challenges on animal performance, health, and well-being. (AU)