Comparative Serum Proteome Analysis Indicates a Negative Correlation between a Higher Immune Level and Feed...

Area of Science:

• Proteomics and Livestock Science
• Biomarker Discovery in Animal Agriculture

Background:

• Feed efficiency is a critical economic and environmental factor in the swine industry.
• Early identification of biomarkers can optimize pig breeding and production costs.
• Serum protein profiles offer potential insights into physiological differences related to feed efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify differentially expressed proteins in the serum of high- versus low-feed efficiency pigs.
• To establish a foundation for developing protein biomarkers for predicting and enhancing porcine feed efficiency.
• To explore the functional pathways associated with these differentially expressed proteins.

Main Methods:

• Serum samples were collected from 350 Yorkshire pigs at approximately 90 days of age.
• Proteomic analysis using isobaric tandem mass tag (iTRAQ) was performed on extreme high- and low-feed efficiency groups (12 pigs each).
• Parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) was employed to validate 10 differentially expressed proteins.

Main Results:

• A total of 1364 proteins were identified in the serum.
• 137 proteins exhibited differential expression between high- and low-feed efficiency groups (44 upregulated, 93 downregulated).
• Differentially expressed proteins were associated with pathways including immune, digestive, metabolic, and genetic processing.
• Proteins enriched in the immune system were significantly downregulated in high-feed efficiency pigs.

Conclusions:

• Specific serum proteins are significantly associated with feed efficiency in pigs.
• Downregulation of immune system proteins in high-efficiency pigs suggests a potential trade-off between immunity and feed conversion.
• These findings provide crucial insights for developing novel protein biomarkers to improve swine feed efficiency.