Phenomics

Phenomics of feed intake data: deriving new phenotypes for genetic selection from volumetric automatic feeders in grow-finish pigs

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Abstract

Phenomics involves the process of large-scale, detailed and continuous phenotyping with the aim of improving breeding programs through biological complex modelling. Using volumetric automatic feeders (VAF) in grow-finish in pigs provides an opportunity to capture data to dissect biological mechanisms beyond feed intake and efficiency. Therefore, the objective of this study was to derive new traits based on feed data collected from VAF and investigate the potential of these traits to be used in swine breeding programs. Data from 6,277 Duroc pigs from three AcuFastTM testing centers was used, which was measured during test (~70 to ~155 days of age) using VAF. Position and instability measures (i.e., total, average, minimum, maximum, and standard deviation) were used to summarize the feeding curve (FC) and derive traits related to the number of visits, intake, time and feeding rate (speed) of visits (i.e., feed intake and behavior traits, FI and FB, respectively). The FC had ~80 days after visit data quality control and imputation of missing daily feed intake. Four resilience traits (RES) were calculated: two based on the natural log of the residual variance and two based on the negative area of the residuals from linear and spline regressions of average daily feed intake (ADFI) on age at test day. Two feed efficiency (FE) traits were calculated: feed conversion ratio (FCR) and residual feed intake (RFI). Performance and body composition (BC) traits were measured in the same pigs and investigated. A pedigree consisting of 308,962 individuals, 2,092 sires, and 16,935 dams was used in a standard animal model for variance component estimation. Single trait models were used to estimate heritability (h2) and bivariate models for genetic correlations (rg). Feed intake traits were moderately heritable (h2 ~0.30) and presented a strong rg (~1.00), showing that only one trait from this group is needed. ADFI was highly correlated with FE traits (rg > 0.90). Low to moderate rg (between ~0.00 and ~0.80) was observed between ADFI and all other traits. Feeding behaviour traits were lowly to highly heritable (h2 between ~0.10 and ~0.40) and low to high correlated between themselves and all other traits (rg between -0.75 and ~1.00). Resilience and FE traits were moderately heritable (h2 between ~0.20 and ~0.30) and moderately to highly correlated to FI and FB traits (rg > 0.70). All traits investigated exhibited a substantial degree of genetic determination and genetic association. These results indicate selection strategies focused solely on efficiency or performance may fail to capture other important traits, such as resilience. Future efforts should therefore prioritize the development of selection indices that explicitly incorporate these emerging traits. In addition, studies integrating other omics data and utilizing structural equation modelling are recommended to better understand underlying biological relationships.

Keywords: 2026

How to Cite:

Araujo, A., Baller-Granville, J., Schwab, C. & See, G., (2026) “Phenomics of feed intake data: deriving new phenotypes for genetic selection from volumetric automatic feeders in grow-finish pigs”, World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production Digital Archive 2026(1): 2286974. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/wcgalp.24184

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