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Glucocorticoid and Androgen Characteristics in Two Lines of Pigs Selected for Rate of Gain and Thickness of Backfat¹

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden , Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden and and Agricultural University of Norway, Ås, Norway

Abstract

Two lines of pigs selected for rate of gain and backfat thickness in opposite directions were used to study the possible role of some steroid hormones for meat vs fat accretion. Both growth rate and sidefat thickness differed between lines (P.001). The concentration of cytosolic protein was lower (P.05) and the DNA content higher (P.01) in muscle samples (M. rectus femoris) from the lean line. The glucocorticoid receptor concentration was influenced by pH and was higher in the lean line. The Cortisol concentration in blood plasma and in cytosol was lower in the lean line (P.05), as was the corticosteroid binding globulin (CBG) concentration (P.001). On the whole, this indicates a more pronounced glucocorticoid action in the fat line. A high positive correlation was found between CBG and Cortisol in blood. The glucocorticoid receptor concentration was correlated to meat color; a paler muscle having a lower concentration of free receptor. Muscle growth vs fat accretion in pigs may thus be partly related to the steroid hormonal status of the animals, which in turn, may well be genetically determined

¹ This study was supported by grants from the Swedish Council for Forestry and Agr. Res. and from the Swedish Medical Research Council (Grants No. 13 X2819 and 19P6483)

² Dept. of Anim. Breeding and Genetics, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.

³ Dept. of Med. Nutr., Karolinska Institutet, Research Center, F 69, Huddinge University-Hospital, S-141 86 Huddinge, Sweden

⁴ Dept. of Clin. Chem., Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden

⁵ Inst. of Anim. Phys. and Nutr. Polish Academy of Sciences, 05-110 Jablonna-near-Warsaw, Poland

⁶ Dept. of Anim. Genetics and Breeding, Agricultural Univ. of Norway, 1432 Ås-NLH, Norway