Impact of diet deprivation and subsequent over-allowance of gestating sows on mammary gland and skeletal muscle development of their offspring at puberty

• Diet deprivation and subsequent over-allowance during gestation does not impair postnatal piglet growth.
• No harmful effects of diet deprivation and subsequent over-allowance during gestation on muscle and mammary tissue of swine offspring at puberty.

The impacts of diet deprivation and subsequent over-allowance during gestation on mammary development, skeletal muscle histochemistry and gene expression in mammary and muscle tissue of offspring at puberty were determined. Twenty three pubertal gilts (11 control, CTL, and 12 treated, TRT) were used. These gilts were born from sows that were reared under a conventional or an experimental dietary regimen during gestation. The experimental regimen provided 70% (restriction diet, RES) and 115% (over-allowance diet, OVER) of the protein and digestible energy contents provided by the conventional diet. The RES diet was given during the first 10 weeks of gestation followed by the OVER diet until farrowing. Female offspring from these dams were grown until puberty using standard commercial practices and were slaughtered at 212±4 days of age. Mammary tissue and the semitendinosus (ST) muscle were collected. Weights of TRT gilts was less than those from CTL gilts at birth (P<0.05) but were similar thereafter (until puberty, P>0.1). Mammary composition and mammary expression for the genes IGF1, IGF2, ODC1, PRLR-LF, STAT5A, and STAT5B were not affected by treatment (P>0.1). Maternal dietary regime during gestation did not influence skeletal muscle microstructure or relative mRNA abundance for IGF1 and IGF2 (P>0.1). In conclusion, restricted feeding followed by overfeeding of gestating sows has no harmful effects on the development of skeletal muscle and mammary tissue of their female offspring up to puberty.