Strategies towards Improved Feed Efficiency in Pigs Comprise Molecular Shifts in Hepatic Lipid and Carbohydrate Metabolism

Due to the central role of liver tissue in partitioning and metabolizing of nutrients, molecular liver-specific alterations are of considerable interest to characterize an efficient conversion and usage of feed in livestock. To deduce tissue-specific and systemic effects on nutrient metabolism and feed efficiency (FE) twenty-four animals with extreme phenotypes regarding residual feed intake (RFI) were analyzed. Transcriptome and fatty acid profiles of liver tissue were complemented with measurements on blood parameters and thyroid hormone levels. Based on 803 differentially-abundant probe sets between low- and high-FE animals, canonical pathways like integrin signaling and lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, were shown to be affected. Molecular alterations of lipid metabolism show a pattern of a reduced hepatic usage of fatty acids in high-FE animals. Complementary analyses at the systemic level exclusively pointed to increased circulating triglycerides which were, however, accompanied by considerably lower concentrations of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids in the liver of high-FE pigs. These results are in accordance with altered muscle-to-fat ratios usually ascribed to FE animals. It is concluded that strategies to improve FE might favor a metabolic shift from energy storage towards energy utilization and mobilization.