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Feed efficiency in swine pp 153–166Cite as

The genetic and biological basis of residual feed intake as a measure of feed efficiency

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Abstract

Feed efficiency traditionally has been evaluated either using a feed to gain ratio or a gain to feed ratio. Starting in 1963 with Koch, a new manner of looking at feed efficiency came into play and has become increasingly important. Koch adjusted feed consumed for gain and mid-weight in order to evaluate residual feed intake (RFI) of individual animals. Animals with a more negative residual feed intake are more efficient. Many studies have been performed in order to get a better understanding of the biological basis behind RFI. Studies have been conducted to compare animals differing in RFI to evaluate differences in traits such as total feed intake, growth and other performance traits, meat quality, behavior, and digestibility. At Iowa State University, two selection lines of pigs have been developed which differ in RFI as a resource population to study the biological and physiological basis of feed intake and efficiency. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the main findings from this selection experiment in terms of the genetic and biological basis of RFI in growing pigs. RFI was found to be moderately heritable (0.29 ± 0.07) and responded well to selection. Selection for decreased RFI resulted in pigs that ate less, are leaner, grow slower, eat faster, have lower maintenance requirements, and have better gut integrity. No detrimental effects were found for meat quality, litter size, litter performance, or response to PRRS infection.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge everyone who has contributed to the RFI selection experiment at Iowa State University including faculty (Tom Baas, Rohan Fernando, Dorian Garrick, Max Rothschild, Chris Tuggle, Elisabeth Lonergan, Steven Lonergan, Nick Gabler, John Patience, Mike Spurlock, Lloyd Anderson, Anna Johnson, Peng Liu, Dan Nettleton, and Vasant Honavar), graduate students (David Casey, Weiguo Cai, Nick Boddicker, Dinesh Thekkoot, Emily Waide, Andrew Hess, Danielle Gorbach, Oliver Couture, Rachel Smith, Kyle Grubbs, Shannon Cruzen, Emily Arkfeld, Venkatesh Mani, Amanda Harris, Jessica Jenkins, Sender Lkhagvadorj, Larry Saddler, and Long Qu), post-docs and research associates (Suneel Onteru, Anoosh Rakhshandeh, and Ed Steadham), and the staff at the Lauren Christian Swine Breeding Research Center. We would also like to acknowledge our collaborators: Bob Rowland’s research group at Kansas State University; Joan Lunney, Tom Weber, and Brian Kerr from USDA-ARS; Kim Bunter and Frank Dunshea from Australia; and Rob Bergsma and Egbert Knol from IPG & Wageningen University. The authors would like to thank PIC/Genus and Newsham Choice Genetics for donating FIRE© feeders. We would also like to thank funding from USDA-CSREES NRI Grants #2010-65206-20670 and #2011-68004-30336, National Pork Producers, Iowa Pork Producers Association, ISU Center for Integrated Animal Genomics, Iowa State and Hatch Funds, Pfizer Animal Health, and USDA Swine Genome Coordinator.

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  1. Animal Science, Iowa State University, 239 Kildee Hall, Ames, IA, 50011-3150, USA

    J. M. Young & J. C. M. Dekkers

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Young, J.M., Dekkers, J.C.M. (2012). The genetic and biological basis of residual feed intake as a measure of feed efficiency. In: Patience, J.F. (eds) Feed efficiency in swine. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen. https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-756-1_7

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