Fetal and neonatal programming of postnatal growth and feed efficiency in swine

Fetal and neonatal programming of postnatal

growth and feed efficiency in swine

Yun Ji1,Zhenlong Wu1,Zhaolai Dai1,Xiaolong Wang2,Ju Li2,Binggen Wang2and Guoyao Wu1,3*

【摘 要】Abstract Maternal undernutrition or overnutrition during pregnancy alters organ structure,impairs prenatal and neonatal growth and development,and reduces feed efficiency for lean tissue gains in pigs.These adverse effects may be carried over to the next generation or beyond.This phenomenon of the transgenerational impacts is known as fetal programming,which is mediated by stable and heritable alterations of gene expression through covalent modifications of DNA and

histones

without

changes

in

DNA

sequences(namely,epigenetics).The mechanisms responsible for the epigenetic regulation of protein expression and functions include chromatin remodeling;DNA methylation(occurring at the 5′-position of cytosine

residues

within

CpG

dinucleotides);and

histone

modifications(acetylation,methylation,phosphorylation,and

ubiquitination).Like maternal malnutrition,undernutrition during the neonatal period also reduces growth performance and feed efficiency(weight

gain:feed

intake;also

known

as

weightgain

efficiency)in postweaning pigs by 5–10%,thereby increasing the days necessary to reach the market bodyweight.Supplementing functional