Phenotypic approaches in livestock productions: New methods and technologies for sustainable systems

The present thesis investigated the effect of transport stress on the welfare and meat quality traits of Apulo-Calabrese (a local Italian pig breed) in comparison with crossbreed [Duroc x (Landrace and Large White)] pigs. For this purpose, all the animals were blood sampled five days before transport and at exsanguination for the analysis of blood stress parameters. Apulo-Calabrese pigs were slaughtered at 135 kg live weight while crossbreed pigs were slaughtered at 155 kg live weight. Meat quality traits such as pH, color, drip loss, cooking loss, Warner–Bratzler shear force, and intramuscular fat (IMF) were assessed on the longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle. In addition, water status was assessed from LT samples using transverse relaxation time (T2) weighted signals registered by Time Domain Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (TD-NMR), and fatty acid composition was determined by Folch method. Data were analyzed using mixed models and principal component analysis. The results are presented in three manuscripts: In chapter 1, the effect of short distance transport on the behavioral occurrences, blood parameters, and meat quality traits was investigated. Apulo-Calabrese pigs showed the highest value of exsanguination lactate when compared with crossbreed pigs which indicates a more intense physiological response. Significantly higher a* and lower L* coordinates were found in the samples of Apulo-Calabrese which showed meat with a deeper red color than crossbreeds. In chapter 2, results from the TD-NMR showed a higher percentage of extra-myofibrillar water in the samples of Apulo-Calabrese which was in agreement with the higher values of cooking loss found in this breed. In chapter 3. Except for heptadecenoic acid, there were no great differences in the longissimus thoracis muscle fatty acid profile between the two genetic types. The thesis provided insight on the effects of transport stress on the well-being being and meat quality traits of Apulo-Calabrese pig.