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Toxicity Testing in Animals

Toxicity Testing in Animals

Toxicity tests in animals are grounded on two main assumptions: first, the effects observed in laboratory animals can be extrapolated to humans, especially when adjusted for body surface area; second, high-dose exposure in animals is essential to identify potential human hazards from lower doses. This is based on the quantal dose-response concept, which faces the challenge of extrapolating results from relatively few test animals to much larger human populations. For example, a 0.01% incidence...

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Noninvasive, In-pen Approach Test for Laboratory-housed Pigs

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A performance test for boar taint compounds in live boars.

C Baes¹, S Mattei, H Luther

¹Agronomy Department, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Zollikofen, Switzerland. baesc@ethz.ch

Animal : an International Journal of Animal Bioscience

|December 6, 2012

Summary

Genetically reducing boar taint in pigs is achievable through low-taint breeding programs. A new biopsy method accurately measures boar taint compounds in live animals, enabling reliable genetic selection to reduce undesirable carcass traits.

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Area of Science:

Animal Science
Genetics
Agricultural Science

Background:

Surgical castration of male pigs is a common practice to prevent boar taint, but it poses economic and ethical concerns.
Genetic selection offers a sustainable alternative to reduce boar taint by utilizing low-taint pig lines.
High heritability of boar taint components (androstenone, skatole, indole) makes genetic improvement a viable strategy.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and validate a standardized performance test for quantifying major boar taint compounds in live breeding candidate pigs.
To establish a reliable method for incorporating genetic selection against boar taint into breeding programs.

Main Methods:

A novel biopsy device was created to collect small adipose tissue samples (200-300 mg) from live boars (100-130 kg).
Specialized chemical extraction methods were employed for accurate and repeatable quantification of androstenone, skatole, and indole.
Mixed linear models and univariate/multivariate analyses were used to estimate genetic parameters, incorporating pedigree data from 2245 ancestors.

Main Results:

The biopsy method demonstrated high accuracy and repeatability (r = 0.938) for measuring boar taint compounds.
Estimated heritabilities for androstenone (0.453), skatole (0.495), and indole (0.550) were consistent with or higher than previously reported values.
Genetic and phenotypic correlations between taint compounds were similar to existing literature, validating the biopsy approach.

Conclusions:

Small adipose tissue samples obtained via biopsy provide reliable genetic parameters for boar taint compounds.
This standardized performance test is effective for selecting live breeding candidates, facilitating genetic reduction of boar taint in pig populations.
The developed method supports sustainable and economic alternatives to surgical castration in swine production.