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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #71029
Title: DIVERGENT CONCENTRATIONS OF PLASMA METABOLITES IN SWINE SELECTED FOR SEVEN GENERATIONS FOR HIGH OR LOW PLASMA TOTAL CHOLESTEROL

Author
item POND, WILSON - BAYLOR COLL OF MEDICINE
item SU, DAI-RONG - BAYLOR COLL OF MEDICINE
item Mersmann, Harry

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/18/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Scientists continue to seek ways to breed stock for improved traits of economic importance. We studied two lines of pigs bred to have genetically high or low blood cholesterol. In generation 4, we saw differences between the lines in 8-week-old pigs; we wanted to see if these differences would show up in generation 7. In generation 7, we noted three interesting and useful things. First, the selection process hadn't progressed any further the cholesterol difference between lines remained the same. Second, there was a striking relationship between blood cholesterol level and body weight: the low-chol pigs gained less than high-chol pigs (as in generation 4). Third, alkaline phosphatase was correlated with cholesterol concentration and weight gain, and probably the relationship is a function of that enzyme as an index of growth; that would have important implications for stock breeders in the future.

Technical Abstract: It was reported previously that selection for high (HG) or low (LG) plasma total cholesterol (TC) at 8 wk of age in a composite four-breed population resulted after four generations in divergent mean concentrations in the selected lines, and revealed a positive correlation between body weight (BW) and TC concentration at 8 wk of age. We report here the relationship between plasma TC concentration and other plasma traits related to growth and between plasma TC concentration and other plasma traits related to growth and metabolism in the seventh generation of selection in these two lines of pigs. Birth weight (1.48vs1.38kg), 8 wk BW (14.85vs12.00kg), TC (116.8vs63.6 mg/dL), HDL-cholesterol (43.9vs25.5/mg/dL),triglycerides (50.5vs33.0 mg/dL, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP)78.3vs44.9units/L) were higher (P<.01) in HG than LG pigs, whereas alanine aminotransferase (ALT)(43.0 vs 45.9 units/L) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (53.0vs62.2units/L) were lower in HG than LG pigs(P<.05). At 8 wk, overall plasma TC concentration was correlated with BW(r=.345,P<.01) and with ALP(r=.231,P<.05), but as not related to ALT or AST. We conclude that the difference between HG and LG pigs in TC concentration at 8 wk of age has persisted in generation 7; that changes in plasma ALP, ALT and AST may have occurred in response to selection for high or low plasma TC.