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Just a walk in the park: How maternal activity may be linked to carcass quality in pigs
Developmental programming is when a stimulus or insult during gestation has long lasting impacts on the development of the offspring. Our objective was to determine if maternal activity would impact the fetal and placental development, influence umbilical blood flow, and offspring growth and performance. This project was conducted over two parities. Yorkshire females either remained in their individual stall from d 40 to term (CON), or were subjected to exercise for 30 min 3 times per week from mid to late gestation (EX). Exercise continued until d 104. Umbilical blood flow increased (P < 0.01) in EX compared to CON gilts. Moreover, gilts had greater (P < 0.01) umbilical blood flow in their first parity compared to their second. Indices of vascular resistance was not affected (P ≥ 0.15) by maternal treatment, however EX gilts reached peak pulsatility index earlier than CON gilts (56.2 vs. 64.3 ± 3.6 d). Fetal weights, piglet birth weights, placental weight, interval between piglet births, and blood lactate of newborn piglets were unaffected (P ≥ 0.15) by maternal treatment. Growth from birth to weaning was not affected (P > 0.1). Offspring from CON females had greater backfat, but similar longissimus muscle area compared to offspring from EX females. Although body weights and hot carcass weights were similar (P> 0.20), carcasses of offspring from EX had reduced L*, increased pH at 45 min postmortem, and decreased drip loss compared to offspring from CON. The increased umbilical blood flow may have contributed to enhanced carcass quality later in life. Exact mechanisms for how this occurred are still under investigation.
Keywords: umbilical blood flow, carcass, pigs