Nontargeted plasma metabolomics associated with sow lifetime productivity traits

Authors: Rempel, Lea; Nonneman, Danny

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/6/2025
Publication Date: 1/9/2026
Citation: Rempel, L.A., Nonneman, D.J. 2026. Nontargeted plasma metabolomics associated with sow lifetime productivity traits. Journal of Animal Science. 104. Article skag003. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skag003.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skag003

Interpretive Summary: Identifying factors that influence a sow’s lifetime productivity is difficult and time consuming as you must wait for the female to transition completely through the breeding herd and to gain the best and most useful information. You must also keep females that produce less than the standard, so physiological and biological differences can be determined between high and low lifetime producers. We have categorically identified females that birthed large or small litters and subsequently weaned large or small litters consistently throughout their entire lifetime and using metabolomics found different relative abundance of small biological compounds in their plasma. The presence of unique compounds can be used by producers to identify young females that have a risk of not birthing and raising enough young to provide economic breakeven, thereby removing suspect females prior to entry into the breeding herd.

Technical Abstract: The current study was conducted to characterize metabolomic plasma profiles among sows differing in their lifetime born alive and lifetime weaned after four parities. Plasma samples were collected at harvest between 12 and 15 d (luteal phase) following their fourth parity post-weaning estrus from 120 dams with consistent born alive and weaned at every farrowing event. Categories were derived as follows for average lifetime born alive (ba): High (H; 61ba), Mid (M; 50ba), and Low (L; 39ba) and raised (wn): High (H; 50wn) and Low (L; 34wn) generating 6 categories with 20 dams in each: HH, HL, MH, ML, LH, and LL, respective to born alive: raised. Plasma samples were submitted for ultra-performance liquid chromatography (positive and negative ionization modes)—mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) to isolate putative compounds. Analysis of variance with a false discovery correction was performed to determine categorical differences of putative compounds. Negative mode ionization UPLC-MS yielded 92 compounds different (P < 0.05) by category, while positive ionization mode provided 644 compounds different (P < 0.05) by category. Twenty-five putative compounds were different (P < 0.05) for the LL and ML categories vs. the HH and MH categories. A putative unique secondary bacterial compound structurally similar to saponins, MK-800-62F1, and an annotated fatty acid, lignoceroylsphingosine, were increased (P < 0.05) in HH dams. Several possible fatty acid, eicosanoid, and steroid compounds had greater (P < 0.05) intensities in LL and LH dams.Several annotated eicosanoid compounds, leukotriene B4, 5(S)-HETE, 15(S)-Hpete, and a PGF1a product, can be biosynthesized in blood in response to an inflammatory stimulus. Probable steroid compounds had increased signal intensity in plasma from LL and LH dams, including neuroactive steroids such as corticosteroids and allopregnanolone and suggested derivatives of testosterone and progesterone steroid compounds. Characterization of plasma profiles among post fourth parity dams with differing lifetime born-alive and weaned production traits suggested unique features that may be related to various physiological systems, including immunological, metabolic, and hormonal. Future work verifying compounds and validating them in adolescent females may provide suitable predictors of lifetime production traits.