Metabolomic analysis of longissimus from underperforming piglets relative to piglets with normal preweaning growth

Background Recent increases in intra-litter variability in weaning weight have raised swine production costs. A contributor to this variability is the normal birth weight pig that grows at a slower rate than littermates of similar birth weight. The goal of this study was to interrogate biochemical profiles manifested in skeletal muscle originating from slow growing (SG) and faster growing littermates (control), with the aim of identifying differences in metabolic pathway utilization between skeletal muscle of the SG pig relative to its littermates. Samples of longissimus muscle from littermate pairs of pigs were collected at 21 d of age for metabolomic analysis (Metabolon, Inc., Durham, NC).