A comparative study of the effects of long-term cold exposure, and cold resistance in Min Pigs and Large White Pigs

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Min Pig (Sus scrofa) is a northern Chinese domestic pig breed, whose cold resistance is remarkable. However, the cold-resistant phenotype of Min Pig is unclear. Our studies showed that in long-term cold exposure, the death rate of Min Pigs is significantly lower than that of the control Large White (LW) Pigs. The ear tissue freezing rate for Min Pigs is 0%, but that for LW Pigs is 100%. The shivering time and shivering frequency of Min Pigs are both significantly lower than that of LW Pigs at 5 months (P < .005) and in 80–90 kg pigs (P < .001). Our results indicated that Min Pig is more cold resistant than LW Pig in long-term cold exposure. These findings provided important reference data for the field of cold resistance research in Min Pigs, and for the breeding of cold-resistant pigs.