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International audience; The ERA-NET project SuSI deals with immunocastration (IC) as a sustainable alternative to pork production with surgical castrates and boars with the aim to optimize pork production on a social, environmental and economic level. Most male piglets in the EU are surgically castrated, which is painful and violates their physical integrity. Raising entire males is not the hoped-for alternative, mainly due to boar taint, while the use of anaesthesia/analgesia during castration also encounters challenges at the level of animal welfare, environment and user safety. The key findings of SuSI are: (1) IC works reliably under different housing conditions and reduces behavioural as well as animal welfare problems; (2) IC effectively reduces boar taint, with differences between animal trials. The chance of boar taint was not completely absent in all trials; (3) IC produces meat of high quality comparable to surgical castrates and is thus an alternative for high-quality traditional products and outdoor systems; (4) IC is ecologically efficient, when feed is adapted to dynamic requirements; (5) IC has a high level of consumer acceptance as an ethical concept as well as due to the good sensorial quality; (6) IC has economic and productivity benefits – if it gains market acceptance. Stakeholders at EU level are generally ready to abandon castration without anaesthesia/analgesia, while the preference for alternatives depends on external factors, e.g. the production system and the market. SuSI offers optimized knowledge of IC to support the stakeholders in their decision-making processes for consumer-acceptable pork production across the EU. IC can make the EU pig industry more sustainable and for some countries more competitive.

The only Slovenian autochthonous pig breed (Krškopolje) is reared in very diverse conditions resulting in variable growth rates. As literature data on this breed is scarce, different growth phases were assessed within the TREASURE project. Growth in the pre-weaning period (n=156) was recorded on the farms of their origin (7 organic and 11 conventional), whereas the post-weaning period data originated from a subsample (n=42; piglets from 5 organic and 9 conventional farms). transferred to the experimental farm. There the piglets were assigned within litter to three pens; one pen (ECO; n=14) received organic feed mixture (12.8 MJ metabolizable energy, 17% crude proteins), while two pens (CON, n=28) received a conventional starter for 10 days (14 MJ metabolizable energy, 17.8% crude proteins) and thereafter a grower diet (13.6 MJ metabolizable energy, 16.8% crude proteins). Piglets were fed ad libitum and weighed at the average age of 38, 54 and 113 days. Prior to weaning, the piglets grew faster on conventional (app. 20%) than on organic farms (209±16 vs. 173±19 g/day, respectively), but the difference was not significant (P=0.17). Post-weaning, CON group had only 8% higher daily gain than ECO (391±31 vs. 361±41 g/day, respectively; P=0.60). The results suggest that no differences in between the systems are expected within similar rearing and feeding conditions.

As raças suínas locais estão adaptadas a ambientes locais específicos e são alimentadas com vários alimentos disponíveis localmente. Para além do seu interesse genético da óptica da agro-biodiversidade, elas representam uma base para fileiras suínas locais sustentáveis. O objetivo do presente trabalho é resumir os dados já disponíveis na literatura sobre a performance produtiva da raça autóctone Eslovena, a raça Krškopolje, que é uma das raças estudadas no âmbito do projeto TREASURE. Foi realizada uma pesquisa e revisão da literatura disponível sobre parâmetros produtivos (crescimento, qualidade de carcaça e da carne) de suínos Krškopolje. A revisão da literatura indica que o crescimento do nascimento ao abate é, em média, de 492 g/dia (339-637 g/dia, n=6). O abate é feito, em média, aos 293 dias de idade (230-360 dias; n=9) e a 118kg de peso vivo (90-145 kg; n=7). O rendimento de carcaça é, em média, de 77,3% (71,7 – 80,2%; n=9) e o teor em tecido magro de 43,5% (37,5–47,8%; n=7). A espessura da gordura dorsal medida ao nível da última costela é, em média, 38mm (28-53mm; n=11), enquanto que a área do lombo e a área da gordura do lombo são, em média, 32,6 e 33,0 cm2, respetivamente (23,2-41,7; n=5 e 27,7-42,2; n=4, respetivamente). Nos estudos que reportam a qualidade da carne de porcos Krškopolje, o pH 24h post-mortem no músculo Longissimus dorsi é, em média, 5,46 (5,28-5,60; n=7), a perda por gotejamento “drip loss” 48h post-mortem atinge 5,1% (3,9-6,7%; n=4) e o teor em gordura intramuscular é de 3,5% (2,7-4,6%; n=6). Embora havendo poucos estudos sobre o porco Krškopolje, a presente revisão dá uma primeira visão sobre a performances produtivas desta raça local.

In order to further allow implementation of breeding programs in local pig breeds, with selection objectives defined for each local breed, we aimed at developing a standardised recording of carcass and meat quality traits. These data have to be connected with herdbooks to estimate genetic parameters of the traits (heritabilities and genetic correlations) which are necessary to define breeding objectives. Today the situation is very different from one local breed to another. No or very few phenotypes are recorded in some of them, while breeding programs already exist for a few breeds. To promote phenotyping, a dedicated database and a website were developed in the frame of the TREASURE project. First, the required variables have been collected for six local breeds: Basque (FR), Bísaro (PT), Crna slavonska (HR), Gascon (FR), Krškopoljski (SI) and Schwäbisch-Hällisches (DE). In total 74 variables have been identified dealing with animal herdbook information (10), rearing and growth (22), carcass (22) and meat quality (20) attributes. The database is compatible with the various identifiers used in the different countries: animal IDs, breed, farm… codifications. Major attention has been paid to the description of measurement methods of traits. Thus, each carcass and meat quality phenotype is associated to a method description representing 35 additional variables. The website can be easily translated into several languages. The website and database are currently on test until the end of the TREASURE project. All the breeds studied in TREASURE are free to use these tools. The database can be duplicated so that each partner can host its own data. Funded by European Union H2020 RIA program (grant agreement no. 634476).

pig breed genomes opened a new area of genomic research focused on variation caused by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), small scale variation and structural variants which may all contribute to phenotypic variation among pig breeds. In our study (performed within TREASURE project) we re-analysed WGS-based data sets from more than 20 breeds, including commercial and local breeds as well as some wild boar genomes, deposited in publicly available databases. This bioinformatics tool enables discovery of new SNPs, estimation of allele frequencies (genotyping by sequencing) at candidate loci and identification of structural variation in a wide range of pig breeds. The analysis underlined the relevance of structural differences at KIT and MC1R locus involved in colour pattern formation, as well as LEPR locus associated with fatness, fatty acid metabolism and intramuscular fat composition. This approach allows discovery of important genomic differences between commercial breeds and local breeds which are analysed in the frame of the TREASURE project. Extensive mining of publicly available genomic data can together with the newly generated genomic information from local breeds, significantly contribute to the detailed characterisation of animal genetic resources present in local pig breeds. Funded by European Union’s H2020 RIA program (grant agreement No. 634476).

The aim of the present study was the comparison of carcass and meat quality traits of commercial pigs of various crossbreeds from two major Slovenian herds. The analysis is based on phenotypic data from field trials which have been collected in the last past five years within the Slovenian breeding programme. Important differences in carcass traits were observed between two herds and were associated to different crossbreeds used. In spite of that economically important result on the slaughter line (lean meat %) was similar for both herds. Meat quality traits were also significantly different between the two herds. Again, the difference could be ascribed to crossbreeds used. However, since the herd effect is connected with abattoir effect, different ante-mortem conditions and/or lower robustness of these animals to premortal stress could also be contributed to the observed differences. The presented results give important information on the state-of-the-art regarding meat quality of Slovenian pigs. Cilj raziskave je bila primerjava lastnosti klavnega trupa in mesa komercialnih prašičev pitancev različnih križanj iz dveh največjih slovenskih čred. Analiza je temeljila na fenotipskih podatkih, ki smo jih zbirali zadnjih pet let v okviru slovenskega rejskega programa. Med čredama smo ugotovili pomembne razlike v lastnostih trupa, ki jih lahko pripišemo razlikam v genotipih prašičev (križanjih), nismo pa ugotovili razlik v ekonomsko pomembnem rezultatu, deležu mesa v trupu, ki je bil podoben v obeh čredah. Lastnosti kakovosti mesa so bile med čredama prav tako statistično značilno različne. Tudi v tem primeru lahko razlike v veliki meri pojasnimo z genotipi prašičev (križanj), vendar pa zaradi povezanosti vpliva črede z vplivom klavnice del razlik lahko izhaja tudi iz različnih razmer ante-mortem in/ali manjše robustnosti živali na premortalne stresne dejavnike. Predstavljeni rezultati so pomembna informacija o stanju na področju kakovosti mesa prašičev v Sloveniji.

Performance of Krškopolje pigs in conventional and organic production system was investigated in project TREASURE. Thirty-six castrates were assigned (at app. 70 kg) to 3 treatment groups (TG): organic (ECO), conventional (CON) and conventional with lucerne supplementation (CON+L). CON (n=12) and CON+L (n=12) were housed indoors, while ECO (n=12) pigs were housed in a pen with an outdoor access. Two barley based diets were composed; organic for ECO (12.4 MJ ME, 12.9% CP, 0.7% Lys) and conventional (12.7 MJ ME, 13.6% CP, 1.2 % Lys) for CON and CON+L and distributed in equal quantities (app. 3.4 kg per pig) to CON and ECO whereas CON+L were offered 10% less feed. ECO and CON+L were supplemented with lucerne hay or pellets, respectively. After 73 days on trial, CON+L pigs had 11% lower (P=0.148) average daily gain (ADG) and ECO had 13% higher (P= 0.097) ADG than CON pigs. ECO pigs had less variation in body weight at the end of the trial. Backfat thickness gain was 0.28 vs. 0.32 and 0.36 mm/day for CON+L, CON and ECO, respectively (P=0.083). Feed conversion ratio was comparable in CON and CON+L (4.90 vs. 4.91 kg feed/kg gain).

The aim of the present study was to compare carcass and meat quality traits of ecologically reared capons and cocks. The experiment comprised 60 layer-type Slovenian hybrid Prelux-G chickens. Half of the animals were caponized at the age of 52 days (app. 0.5 kg body mass) and another half were left entire males. All chickens were reared on the same farm respecting requirements for ecological farming. Chickens were fed commercial feed mixtures combined with the free access to pasture. After the slaughter (185 days), the chickens were dissected and main carcass parts were weighed. Meat quality (pH, colour, water-holding capacity) and chemical composition (protein, water, intramuscular fat) were determined. Birds of both groups had similar weight of carcass and body parts, except for weight of the thighs with drumsticks and off al weight, which were significantly lower in capons. The main differences in carcass traits appeared in the abdominal fat tissue. Capons had more abdominal fat. Meat physico-chemical characteristics (pH, drip loss) were similar in both groups, except for the colour. Capons had lighter (higher Minolta L*value) and less red (lower Minolta a* value) colour of meat as cocks. There was no difference between capons and cocks in the content of muscle proteins, water and intramuscular fat.

The study of gut microbiota and its effects on hosts has emerged as an essential component of host homeostasis and global efficiency. Besides host’s influence on gut microbiota, major quantitative and qualitative changes may occur in the composition of the intestinal microbiota due to the influence of diet and other environmental factors. In accordance with the TREASURE project global aim of enhancing sustainability of production systems for local pig breeds, the objective of our task was to conduct a pilot characterisation of intestinal microbiota in order to test its usefulness to characterize several local European pig populations and their production systems. This approach has been applied to populations belonging to the following European traditional breeds: Gascon (France), Iberian (Spain), Krskopolje (Slovenia), Mangalitsa (Serbia), Moravka (Serbia) and Turopolje (Croatia). For each breed, faecal samples have been collected along different experiments performed in the TREASURE project targeting the comprehension of a particular traditional production system (e.g. open-air farming), management practice, or the comparison of breeds. In all experiments, the metagenomics technique employed is the resequencing of the bacterial 16S in an Illumina MiSeq system. Overall, the results have shown that the gut microbiota analysis is a promising approach for the characterisation of these local breeds, by allowing a deeper understanding of their production systems and potentially allowing the development of new certification approaches. Preliminary results will be summarized in this communication. Funded by European Union’s H2020 RIA program (Grant agreement no. 634476).

The Krškopolje pig is the only indigenous Slovenian pig breed being still farmed. The breed is characterised by its rusticity and adaptation to the traditional farming system and has a black coat colour with a white belt across shoulders and forelegs. Despite the limited number of animals, the breed is on the way of becoming more sustainable due to the growing interest for local traditional breeds, in particular for organic farming. The objective of our study (made within project TREASURE) was to characterise the gut microbiota composition in 36 Krškopolje pigs raised by using three different diets: conventional feed, conventional feed supplemented with alfalfa pellets and organic feed supplemented with alfalfa hay. The gut microbiota composition of all pigs at two time points (155 and 228 days-ofage) was determined by resequencing the bacterial 16S gene in an Illumina MiSeq. Bioinformatics analyses were performed by using Qiime’s open-reference OTU calling subsampled method following author’s recommendations. NMDS and PERMANOVA analyses performed by the Vegan R package showed significant effects of dietary regime, showing that the organic feed produces a differentiation of the gut microbiota composition when compared with the other two diets and the two time points analysed. This pilot study illustrates the power of metagenomic analyses for the identification of effects of diets in the farming conditions of local European pig breeds. Funded by European Union’s H2020 RIA program (Grant agreement no. 634476).

In this study (of project TREASURE*), two objectives were pursued; to investigate the incidence and effect of RYR1 genotype on carcass and meat quality traits in the only Slovenian local pig breed Krškopolje (KK). Thirty-six castrates originating from 12 litters were reared on the same farm and slaughtered in a commercial abattoir at the average age of 228±6 days and weight of 121±14 kg. Carcass properties and longissimus dorsi (LD) quality traits and chemical composition were determined. Pigs were genotyped for c. C1843 (p. Arg615Cys) at RYR1 locus by PCR-RFLP method (mutant allele further denoted as ‘n’ and wild as ‘N’). Data were analysed using GLM procedure of SAS/STAT module, with fixed effect of RYR1 genotype in the model. Genotype frequencies were 2.7, 41.6 and 55.5% for n/n, N/n and N/N respectively. Compared to N/N animals, pigs with mutant recessive allele (N/n) exhibited lower growth rate and leaner carcasses (i.e. higher lean meat %, muscle thickness and loin eye area, thinner backfat and smaller fat area over LD, P

The availability of high-throughput whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data illustrating differences among different pig breed genomes opened a new area of genomic research focused on variation caused by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), small scale variation and structural variants which may all contribute to phenotypic variation among pig breeds. In our study (performed within TREASURE project) we re-analysed WGS-based data sets from more than 20 breeds, including commercial and local breeds as well as some wild boar genomes, deposited in publicly available databases. This bioinformatics tool enables discovery of new SNPs, estimation of allele frequencies (genotyping by sequencing) at candidate loci and identification of structural variation in a wide range of pig breeds. The analysis underlined the relevance of structural differences at KIT and MC1R locus involved in colour pattern formation, as well as LEPR locus associated with fatness, fatty acid metabolism and intramuscular fat composition. This approach allows discovery of important genomic differences between commercial breeds and local breeds which are analysed in the frame of the TREASURE project. Extensive mining of publicly available genomic data can together with the newly generated genomic information from local breeds, significantly contribute to the detailed characterisation of animal genetic resources present in local pig breeds. Funded by European Union’s H2020 RIA program (grant agreement No. 634476).