GGrantIndex
← Search

**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** ACCELERATED GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF THE PAST DECADES HAS RESULTED IN DECREASINGLY ROBUST PIGS. ROBUST PIGS ARE THOSE THAT PERFORM WELL IN A VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTS AND IS DEFINED AS PIGS THAT EXPRESS SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE AND EXHIBIT RESILIENCE. RESILIENCE IS THE ABILITY TO BE MINIMALLY AFFECTED BY OR QUICKLY RECOVER FROM A STRESSOR. THE ABILITY TO SELECTIVELY BREED FOR RESILIENT PIGS WILL RESULT IN MORE CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE, BOOST ANIMAL WELFARE AND THEREFORE CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE OF PORK PRODUCTION, AND IMPROVE OVERALL SUSTAINABILITY OF PORK PRODUCTION.THE FIRST STEP IN SELECTING RESILIENT PIGS IS TO DEVELOP CLEARLY DEFINED MEASURES OF RESILIENCE AND ENHANCE CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF RESILIENCE ON A MOLECULAR LEVEL. IN THIS PROJECT WE HAVE PROPOSED TO DEVELOP MEASURES OF RESILIENCE USING BIOMARKERS OF STRESS AND BEHAVIORAL PROXIES OF AGGRESSION, AND THEN GENERATE GENETIC DATA TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE UNDERLYING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF RESILIENCE. THIS PROJECT WILL NOT RESULT IN GENETICSELECTION TOOLS, BUT WILL BUILD THE KNOWLEDGE BASE THAT PAVES THE WAY FOR SUCH TOOLS TO BE DEVELOPED. BY ANALYZING CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS AND THE STRESS RESILIENT PHENOTYPE, WE AIM TO PRODUCE THE KNOWLEDGE NECESSARY FOR PRODUCERS TO MAKE A QUICK ASSESSMENT OF PIGS ON FARM AND MAKE SOME INFERENCES ON THEIR RESILIENCE TO SOCIAL STRESS. ADDITIONALLY, THE RESULTS OF OUR GENETIC ANALYSIS MAY RESULT IN DISCOVERY OF NOVEL EPIGENETIC MARKERS FOR RESILIENCE.

$179,374FY2022National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

View source on USAspending →
**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** ACCELERATED GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF THE PAST DECADES HAS RESULTED IN DECREASINGLY ROBUST PIGS. ROBUST PIGS ARE THOSE THAT PERFORM WELL IN A VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTS AND IS DEFINED AS PIGS THAT EXPRESS SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE AND EXHIBIT RESILIENCE. RESILIENCE IS THE ABILITY TO BE MINIMALLY AFFECTED BY OR QUICKLY RECOVER FROM A STRESSOR. THE ABILITY TO SELECTIVELY BREED FOR RESILIENT PIGS WILL RESULT IN MORE CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE, BOOST ANIMAL WELFARE AND THEREFORE CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE OF PORK PRODUCTION, AND IMPROVE OVERALL SUSTAINABILITY OF PORK PRODUCTION.THE FIRST STEP IN SELECTING RESILIENT PIGS IS TO DEVELOP CLEARLY DEFINED MEASURES OF RESILIENCE AND ENHANCE CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF RESILIENCE ON A MOLECULAR LEVEL. IN THIS PROJECT WE HAVE PROPOSED TO DEVELOP MEASURES OF RESILIENCE USING BIOMARKERS OF STRESS AND BEHAVIORAL PROXIES OF AGGRESSION, AND THEN GENERATE GENETIC DATA TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE UNDERLYING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF RESILIENCE. THIS PROJECT WILL NOT RESULT IN GENETICSELECTION TOOLS, BUT WILL BUILD THE KNOWLEDGE BASE THAT PAVES THE WAY FOR SUCH TOOLS TO BE DEVELOPED. BY ANALYZING CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS AND THE STRESS RESILIENT PHENOTYPE, WE AIM TO PRODUCE THE KNOWLEDGE NECESSARY FOR PRODUCERS TO MAKE A QUICK ASSESSMENT OF PIGS ON FARM AND MAKE SOME INFERENCES ON THEIR RESILIENCE TO SOCIAL STRESS. ADDITIONALLY, THE RESULTS OF OUR GENETIC ANALYSIS MAY RESULT IN DISCOVERY OF NOVEL EPIGENETIC MARKERS FOR RESILIENCE. · GrantIndex