Isabelle Louveau

• PhD
• French National Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE)

Background Assessing farm animals’ welfare is crucial, yet practical physiological tools are still lacking. In this study, we tested whether the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) transcriptome shows variations in association with sows’ welfare. To do this, we compared animals whose welfare states were assumed to differ due to their lives in...

Background Assessing animals’ affective states is crucial for evaluating the welfare of farm animals, yet practical tools are lacking. In this study, we tested whether the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) transcriptome can be used to show variations in sows’ affective state. To do this, we compared animals whose emotional states were assume...

Colostrum intake, which is critical for piglet survival after birth and growth up to weaning, greatly depends on piglet weight and vitality at birth. Our aim was to identify a set of biological variables explaining individual variations in colostrum intake, preweaning growth and risk of dying. Farrowing traits, morphological traits and colostrum in...

Near-infrared spectrometry: a tool to differentiate pigs according to their diet and predict the fatty-acid composition of pork The growing consumer demand for high-quality pork produced with high-quality products must be accompanied by monitoring to ensure their traceability. In a study to evaluate effects of genetic and nutritional factors on mea...

Adipose tissue is an organ with metabolic, endocrine and immune functions. In this tissue, the expressions of genes associated with several metabolic pathways, including lipid metabolism, have been shown to be affected by genetic selection for feed efficiency, an important trait to consider in livestock. We hypothesized that the stimulation of immu...

Neonatal maturity depends on the maternal capacity to provide nutrients for fetal growth. This study aimed to investigate the effects of systemic administration of recombinant porcine somatotropin (pST), one of the main regulators of growth and metabolism, to pregnant gilts during late gestation on circulating nutrients and expression levels of gen...

Genetic and feeding factors were combined to improve various quality attributes of pork. Thirty Duroc (D) and thirty Pietrain NN (P) female crossbreeds received a control (C) or an R diet including extruded faba bean and linseed, from 30 to 115 kg. Growth, feed efficiency and slaughter weight were higher for P vs. D pigs and for R vs. C pigs. D pig...

The ability of pigs to cope with inflammatory challenges may by modified by selection for residual feed intake (RFI), a measure of feed efficiency. In the current study, we evaluated skeletal muscle metabolic responses to degraded hygiene conditions in pigs divergently selected for RFI. At 82 d of age, low RFI and high RFI pigs were housed in eithe...

Background. In pigs, the ratio between lean mass and fat mass in the carcass determines production efficiency and is strongly influenced by the number and size of cells in tissues. During growth, the increase in the number of cells results from the recruitment of different populations of multipotent mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) residing in...

Improving the housing of pregnant sows by giving them more space and access to deep straw had positive effects on their welfare, influenced their maternal behavior and improved the survival of their offspring. The present study aimed at determining whether these effects were actually due to environmental enrichment and whether the provision of stra...

Le projet européen PROHEALTH portait sur les maladies de production des porcs et des volailles. Pour l’espèce porcine, INRAE a apporté des connaissances nouvelles permettant de comprendre les mécanismes biologiques qui conduisent ou non à l’expression de ces maladies et de proposer des voies d’amélioration des conditions d’élevage pour préserver la...

Background Improving feed efficiency (FE) is an important goal due to its economic and environmental significance for farm animal production. The FE phenotype is complex and based on the measurements of the individual feed consumption and average daily gain during a test period, which is costly and time-consuming. The identification of reliable pre...

Background In pigs, the ratio between lean mass and fat mass determines production efficiency and is strongly influenced by the number and size of cells in tissues. During growth, the increase in the number of cells results from the recruitment of different populations of multipotent adult stem cells residing in the tissues. We hypothesized that th...

This study was conducted to compare postprandial plasma concentrations of insulin, energy-related metabolites, and amino acids measured after a 6-week challenge consisting of exposure to good or poor hygiene of housing conditions of 24 growing pigs divergently selected for low-RFI (LRFI) and high-RFI (HRFI). Blood indicators of immune responses wer...

The use of early biomarkers is an interesting approach to improve selection efficiency for traits that are difficult to measure. The aim of this study was to validate juvenile IGF1 and leptin as biomarkers of growth and feed efficiency in Large White (LW), Duroc and Piétrain purebred lines. To determine plasma concentrations of IGF1 and leptin, blo...

Validation of blood biomarkers of feed efficiency in the Large White, Duroc and Piétrain lines The use of early biomarkers is an interesting approach to improve selection efficiency for traits that are difficult to measure. The aim of this study was to validate juvenile IGF1 and leptin as biomarkers of growth and feed efficiency in Large White (LW)...

Stratégies génétiques et alimentaires pour améliorer les qualités sensorielles et nutritionnelles des viandes chez le porc Dans l'objectif de proposer des pratiques d'élevage visant l'amélioration des qualités intrinsèques (sensorielles, nutritionnelles) et extrinsèques des viandes de porc (relocalisation des ressources alimentaires), nous avons év...

Selection for residual feed intake (RFI), a measure of feed efficiency, may affect the ability of pigs to adapt their metabolism in response to poor environmental conditions. This study was conducted to compare postprandial plasma concentrations of insulin, energy related metabolites, and amino acids measured after a 6-week challenge consisting of...

English version of the full text

Background: Improving feed efficiency (FE) is an important breeding goal due to its economic and environmental significance for farm animal production. The phenotypic value is obtained by measuring individual feed consumption and average daily gain during a test period, which is costly and time-consuming. The identification of reliable predictors o...

Purpose The control of body composition by genetics and dietary nutrients is of the upmost importance for both human and animal physiology. Adult stem cells (aSC) may represent a relevant level of tissue adaptation. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of macronutrient composition on aSC populations isolated from adipose tissue or...

Piglets are immature at birth, which renders them highly sensitive to environmental conditions during the neonatal period. Lean and fat tissues are important components for survival and later growth capabilities. This chapter focuses on the development of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue during intra-uterine life, suckling and post-weaning. Avail...

Carcass adiposity of pigs slaughtered in France has decreased by 45 % on average between 1977 and 2016. The production of increasingly lean animals has been initiated in the 1950-1960’s by setting up commercial grading scales for carcasses and differentiated payment according to their lean content, to the detriment of fatty tissues. This evolution...

Pig production systems provide multiple benefits to humans. However, the global increase in meat consumption has profound consequences for our earth. This perspective describes two alternative scenarios for improving the sustainability of future pig production systems. The first scenario is a high input–high output system based on sustainable inten...

Carcass adiposity of pigs slaughtered in France has decreased by 45% on average between 1977 and 2016. The production of increasingly lean animals has been initiated in the 1950-1960’s by setting up commercial grading scales for carcasses and differentiated payment according to their lean content, to the detriment of fatty tissues. This evolution l...

Piglets are immature at birth, which renders them highly sensitive to environmental conditions during the neonatal period. Lean and fat tissues are important components for survival and later growth capabilities. This chapter focuses on the development of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue during intra-uterine life, suckling and post-weaning. Avail...

PurposeThe control of body composition by genetics and dietary nutrients is of the upmost importance for both human and animal physiology. Adult stem cells (aSC) may represent a relevant level of tissue adaptation. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of macronutrient composition on aSC populations isolated from adipose tissue or m...

Climatic environment is one of the main limiting factors of production efficiency in the swine industry especially in tropical countries. The aim of aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of heat exposure during most of gestation on the growth performance and carcass composition of the offspring. A total of 24 mixed parity sows pregnant sows...

Environmental enrichment is a recognized strategy to improve sow welfare. Providing manipulable wood materials and straw pellets to sows during gestation might participate in satisfying their investigative behavior. Sows may also get a benefit from chewing and eating fibers, which can decrease their hunger. Such strategy, however, should not advers...

Background: Improving feed efficiency (FE) is a major challenge in pig production. This complex trait is characterized by a high variability. Therefore, the identification of predictors of FE may be a relevant strategy to reduce phenotyping efforts in breeding and selection programs. The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of expr...

Background Improving feed efficiency (FE) is a major challenge in pig production. This complex trait is characterized by a high variability. Therefore, the identification of predictors of FE may be a relevant strategy to reduce phenotyping efforts in breeding and selection programs. The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of expres...

The control of body fat content and distribution is a topic of great interest in meat producing animals. The lean to fat ratio determines commercial grading scales for carcasses in different species with greater body fatness decreasing the payments granted to producers and increasing the costs of carcass trimming in slaughtering and packing plants....

Background Improving feed efficiency (FE) is a major challenge in pig production. This complex trait is characterized by a high variability. Therefore, the identification of predictors of FE may be a relevant strategy to reduce phenotyping efforts in breeding and selection programs. The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of expres...

To avoid boar taint before slaughtering, late castration by immunisation against gonadotrophin releasing hormone or immunocastration has been developed. The current study aimed at determining whether differences in feed efficiency between castrated male (CM), immune castrated (IM) and entire male pigs (EM) can be explained by differences in nutrien...

Background Improving feed efficiency (FE) is a major challenge in pig production. This complex trait is characterized by a high variability. Therefore, the identification of predictors of FE may be a relevant strategy to reduce phenotyping efforts in breeding and selection programs. The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of expres...

Adiposity and genetic improvement in pigs: literature review and new challenges for meat product quality The adiposity of carcasses of pigs slaughtered in France decreased by 45% on average from 1977 to 2016. This is the result of 40 years of production of increasingly lean animals, initiated from 1950-1960 by setting up commercial grading scales...

L’adiposité des carcasses de porcs abattus en France s’est réduite en moyenne de 45% entre 1977 et 2016. Ce constat est le résultat de 40 années de production d’animaux de plus en plus maigres, initiée dans les années 1950-1960 par la mise en place des grilles de classement commercial des carcasses et de paiement différencié en fonction de leur ten...

Background The degree of adipose tissue development at birth may influence neonatal survival and subsequent health outcomes. Despite their lower birth weights, piglets from Meishan sows (a fat breed with excellent maternal ability) have a higher survival rate than piglets from Large White sows (a lean breed). To identify the main pathways involved...

In pig husbandry, pregnant females are often exposed to stressful conditions, and their outcomes on maternal and offspring health have not been well evaluated. The present study aimed at testing whether improving the welfare of gestating sows could be associated with a better maternal health during gestation, changes in the composition of lacteal s...

Sow environment during gestation can generate maternal stress which could alter foetal development. The effects of two group-housing systems for gestating sows on piglet morphological and physiological traits at birth were investigated. During gestation, sows were reared in a conventional system on a slatted floor (C, 18 sows), demonstrated as bein...

L’amélioration de l’efficacité alimentaire est un enjeu majeur pour la compétitivité de la filière porcine. Elle est classiquement mesurée en élevage par l’indice de consommation, indicateur économique de l’efficacité d’utilisation des aliments pour la croissance. Un critère alternatif indépendant des performances des animaux, la Consommation Moyen...

White adipose tissue (WAT) comprises large fat depots interspersed in the body and plays a major role in energy homeostasis. This primary function related to lipid metabolism and mainly ensured by cytosolic enzymes acting in lipid synthesis or triacylglycerol hydrolysis is well documented in the literature. WAT is also characterized by a low number...

Improving feed efficiency is an import challenge for pig production. This study aimed at proposing molecular traits able to predict feed conversion ratio (FCR) in growing pigs. A total of 71 pigs from two divergent lines selected for residual feed intake (RFI) and fed under different conditions (ad libitum or restricted) and different diets (low fa...

Background Animal’s efficiency in converting feed into lean gain is a critical issue for the profitability of meat industries. This study aimed to describe shared and specific molecular responses in different tissues of pigs divergently selected over eight generations for residual feed intake (RFI). ResultsPigs from the low RFI line had an improved...

Identification des fonctions biologiques, spécifiques d'un tissu ou partagées entre tissus, et associées aux différences d'efficacité alimentaire chez le porc en croissance Cette étude vise à décrire les réponses moléculaires communes entre tissus ou spécifiques d'un tissu chez des porcs en croissance sélectionnés de manière divergente sur la conso...

This review summarizes the results from the INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) divergent selection experiment on residual feed intake (RFI) in growing Large White pigs during nine generations of selection. It discusses the remaining challenges and perspectives for the improvement of feed efficiency in growing pigs. The impacts on...

Improving feed efficiency remains a challenge for pork production. The usual measure in herds is feed conversion ratio that quantifies the economic efficiency of feed use for animal growth. Residual Feed Intake (RFI) has been proposed as an alternative measure, independent of production traits, in the 1960's. This paper reviews the research in two...

Adipose tissue is a primary sensor for nutrient availability and regulates many functions including feed intake and energy homeostasis. This study was undertaken to determine the molecular responses of adipose tissue to differences in feed intake and feed efficiency. Subcutaneous adipose tissue was collected from two lines of pigs divergently selec...

Adipose tissue is a primary sensor for nutrient availability and regulates many functions including feed intake and energy homeostasis. This study was undertaken to determine the molecular responses of adipose tissue to differences in feed intake and feed efficiency. Subcutaneous adipose tissue was collected from two lines of pigs divergently selec...

Introduction et but de l’étude Une meilleure connaissance des éléments qui contrôlent le rapport masse maigre/masse grasse est de la plus haute importance pour la physiologie humaine et animale. Ce rapport est fortement influencé par les variations du nombre et de la taille des cellules musculaires et adipeuses. Il est maintenant reconnu que l’augm...

Both white and brown adipose tissues are recognized to be differently involved in energy metabolism and are also able to secrete a variety of factors called adipokines that are involved in a wide range of physiological and metabolic functions. Brown adipose tissue is predominant around birth, except in pigs. Irrespective of species, white adipose t...

Skeletal muscle consists of several tissues, such as muscle fibers and connective and adipose tissues. This review aims to describe the features of these various muscle components and their relationships with the technological, nutritional, and sensory properties of meat/flesh from different livestock and fish species. Thus, the contractile and met...

Changing the energy and nutrient source for growing animals may be an effective way of limiting adipose tissue expansion, a response which may depend on the genetic background of the animals. This study aims to describe the transcriptional modulations present in the adipose tissues of two pig lines divergently selected for residual feed intake whic...

The molecular mechanisms underlying feed efficiency need to be better understood to improve animal efficiency, a research priority to support a competitive and sustainable livestock production. This study was undertaken to determine whether pig blood transcriptome was affected by differences in feed efficiency and by ingested nutrients. Growing pig...

Primer sequences used for analysis of gene expression by qPCR. (DOCX)

Probes expressed in whole blood of pigs selected for low or high residual feed intake (RFI) fed a low-fat, low-fiber (LF) or high-fat, high-fiber (HF) diet, with significant interaction between line and diet. (XLSX)

Both white and brown adipose tissues are recognized to be differently involved in energy metabolism and are also able to secrete avariety of factors called adipokines that are involved in a wide range of physiological and metabolic functions. Brown adiposetissue is predominant around birth, except in pigs. Irrespective of species, white adipose tis...

In the search for biological basis of robustness, this study aimed (i) at the determination of the heritability of the cortisol response to ACTH in juvenile pigs, using restricted maximum likelihood methodology applied to a multiple trait animal model, and (ii) at the study of the relationships between basal and stimulated cortisol levels with cort...

Intrauterine variations in nutrient allowance can alter body composition and tissue features of the porcine offspring around birth. This study aimed to determine the effects of fetal weight variations between littermates and of maternal dietary regimen during gestation on fetal muscle traits just before birth. Fourteen pregnant gilts were reared un...