The pork industry faces unprecedented challenges from disease, which increases cost of production and use of antibiotics, and reduces production efficiency, carcass quality, and animal wellbeing. One solution is to improve the overall resilience of pigs to a broad array of common diseases through genetic selection. Behavioral changes in feeding and drinking are usually the very first clinical signs when animals are exposed to stressors such as disease. Changes in feeding and drinking behaviors in diseased pigs may reflect the way they cope with the challenge and, thus, could be used as indicator traits to select for disease resilience. The objectives of this study were to estimate genetic parameters of feeding and drinking traits for wean-to-finish pigs in a natural polymicrobial disease challenge model, to estimate genetic correlations of feeding and drinking traits with growth rate and clinical disease traits, and to develop indicator traits to select for disease resilience. In general, drinking traits had moderate to high estimates of heritability, especially average daily water dispensed, duration, and number of visits (0.44 to 0.58). Similar estimates were observed for corresponding feeding traits (0.35 to 0.51). Most genetic correlation estimates among drinking traits were moderate to high (0.30 to 0.92) and higher than among feeding traits (0 to 0.11). Compared to other drinking traits, water intake duration and number of visits had relatively stronger negative genetic correlation estimates with treatment rate and mortality, especially across the challenge nursery and finisher (− 0.39 and − 0.45 for treatment rate; − 0.20 and − 0.19 for mortality). Most of the recorded drinking and feeding traits under a severe disease challenge had moderate to high estimates of heritability, especially for feed or water intake duration and number of visits. Phenotypic and genetic correlations among the recorded feeding traits under disease were generally low but drinking traits showed high correlations with each other. Water intake duration and number of visits are potential indicator traits to select for disease resilience because of their high heritability and had moderate genetic correlations with treatment and mortality rates under severe disease.

中文翻译：

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多种微生物自然疾病挑战下断奶至育肥猪饮水和饲喂性状的遗传参数

猪肉行业面临着前所未有的疾病挑战，这会增加抗生素的生产和使用成本，并降低生产效率、胴体质量和动物福利。一种解决方案是通过基因选择提高猪对多种常见疾病的整体抵抗力。当动物暴露于疾病等压力源时，进食和饮水的行为变化通常是第一个临床症状。患病猪的采食和饮水行为的变化可能反映了它们应对挑战的方式，因此可以用作选择疾病抵抗力的指标特征。本研究的目的是在天然多种微生物疾病挑战模型中估计断奶至育肥猪的采食和饮水性状的遗传参数，估计进食和饮水性状与生长速度和临床疾病特征的遗传相关性，并开发指标性状以选择疾病恢复力。一般来说，饮酒特征对遗传性有中到高的估计，尤其是平均每日饮水量、持续时间和访问次数（0.44 到 0.58）。对相应的饲养性状（0.35 至 0.51）观察到类似的估计。饮酒性状之间的大多数遗传相关性估计值为中到高（0.30 至 0.92），高于进食性状（0 至 0.11）。与其他饮用特征相比，饮水持续时间和就诊次数与处理率和死亡率具有相对较强的负遗传相关估计值，尤其是在挑战育苗和育肥机中（处理率分别为 - 0.39 和 - 0.45； - 0.20 和 - 0. 19 死亡率）。大多数记录的严重疾病挑战下的饮水和喂养特征具有中等至高的遗传力估计值，特别是在饲料或水摄入持续时间和访问次数方面。疾病下记录的摄食性状之间的表型和遗传相关性通常较低，但饮酒性状之间显示出高度相关性。取水持续时间和就诊次数是选择疾病恢复力的潜在指标特征，因为它们具有高遗传性，并且与严重疾病下的治疗和死亡率具有中等的遗传相关性。疾病下记录的摄食性状之间的表型和遗传相关性通常较低，但饮酒性状之间显示出高度相关性。取水持续时间和就诊次数是选择疾病恢复力的潜在指标特征，因为它们具有高遗传性，并且与严重疾病下的治疗和死亡率具有中等的遗传相关性。疾病下记录的摄食性状之间的表型和遗传相关性通常较低，但饮酒性状之间显示出高度相关性。取水持续时间和就诊次数是选择疾病恢复力的潜在指标特征，因为它们具有高遗传性，并且与严重疾病下的治疗和死亡率具有中等的遗传相关性。