This research was designed to identify periods during gestation for feeding high zinc that would improve piglet survival and to elucidate how high maternal zinc feeding affects sow and piglet trace mineral levels and gene expression in piglets. Thirty sows were assigned to treatments (10 sows per treatment): 1) Control—sows fed a corn–soybean meal-based diet containing 206 ppm total supplemental zinc; 2) Breed-to-Farrow—as Control + 147 ppm supplemental Zn from 5 days post-breeding to farrowing; and 3) Day 110-to-Farrow—as Control + 4,079 ppm supplemental Zn starting on day 110 of gestation until farrowing. Mineral concentrations of sow serum, colostrum, and milk were unaffected by treatments. Mineral concentrations of piglet serum were not influenced by Zn treatment or piglet birth weight. Transcriptome analysis of whole blood from low birth weight (LBW) piglets revealed little effect of high maternal zinc intake on piglet gene expression. However, 262 differentially expressed genes were identified between LBW and average birth weight piglets. In conclusion, the timing of feeding high Zn concentrations to gestating sows had minimal influence on concentrations of trace minerals in sows and offspring, while piglet birth weight may have meaningful effects on mineral metabolism and gene expression of neonatal piglets.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.