This study evaluated gas production and nutrient digestibility of calf grower feed containing Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) incubated with postbiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus (PLA) and an essential oil blend (EOB). Eight treatments were arranged in a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement with two feeds (with or without LP) and four additives (no additive, PLA, EOB and PLA+EOB), with eight replicates per treatment (4 bottles per run across two independent incubation runs). Treatments were randomly assigned to incubation bottles within each run, and each bottle was considered an experimental unit. PLA and EOB were administered at 5 and 20 μL/g of substrate, respectively. An in-vitro batch culture was conducted for 24 h. Data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA. Results showed that EOB increased microbial mass, while the combination of LP, PLA and EOB improved the partitioning factor. LP and PLA increased total gas, whereas EOB alone or with PLA reduced methane production and increased hydrogen sulfide. Feed digestibility was largely unaffected, although EOB increased neutral detergent fiber digestibility and reduced total volatile fatty acid concentration. It is concluded that probiotic L. plantarum and postbiotic L. acidophilus supplementation enhanced total gas production, while EOB reduced methane emissions, and additive combinations improved microbial and fermentative efficiency

<p>Krškopolje pig is a local Slovenian breed with black coat and white belt of variable width over the shoulders. The breed experienced serious bottle neck effect in the middle of the 20th century followed by the introgression of different breeds, some of them with the goal to preserve belted phenotype. The belt allele was assigned to the KIT proto-oncogene receptor tyrosine kinase (KIT) gene. A number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and structural variations on of the KIT locus were observed. The synonymous SNP rs328592739 in the KIT gene was reported as a marker for distinguishing meat of belted Cinta Senese pigs from meat of non-belted breeds. In the present study, the SNP rs328592739 in Krškopolje, Cinta Senese and Swäbisch-Hall belted pigs has been genotyped using PCR-RFLP approach. In Krškopolje pig the region surrounding SNP rs328592739 was also sequenced using Sanger sequencing. In addition, publicly available whole-genome sequencing data for pigs of 12 different breeds and wild boar were analysed to obtain the sequence of KIT locus and its surrounding region in belted and non-belted pig breeds. The results show that SNP rs328592739 is not associated with white belt phenotype across different pig breeds. However, the analysis revealed structural variations within the KIT locus which may be associated with belted phenotype in pigs.</p>

<p>An observational study of growth performance was performed with Krškopolje pigs reared in extensive (EXT) and intensive (INT) production system. Pigs in INT system (n=6) were housed indoors and received a complete feed mixture, while EXT pigs (n=6) were kept in combined indoor/outdoor system and were fed a traditional meal (cooked root crops) and a mixture of ground grains. Growth performance and meat quality traits of <em>longissimus dorsi</em> (LD) muscle of pigs were assessed. Pigs were monitored from 86 to 224 days of age and were weighed 4-times (at 86, 129, 195, 224 days) with 4 growth stages (25-45, 45-75, 75-90 and 90-120 kg) considered. Overall INT pigs achieved 49 % higher daily gain and were heavier at slaughter than EXT pigs (88 vs. 120 kg, P<0.001). Growth rate of INT and EXT pigs was similar (443 vs. 464 g/day) from 25-45 kg, whereas EXT pigs grew slower than INT pigs in the periods 45-75 and 75-90 kg (445 vs. 853 and 505 vs 893 g/day, respectively). In the last period (90-120 kg) only INT pigs were monitored and they exhibited a decline in growth rate (580 g/day) compared to the previous two periods. Due to higher body weight (BW) at slaughter, INT had thicker backfat than EXT pigs (40 vs. 22 mm, P<0.000), however at equal BW (88 kg), no differences were noted. EXT pigs exhibited lower CIE L* (P=0.044) and higher CIE a* (P=0.003) colour parameters of LD (i.e. darker, redder LD colour), indicative of more oxidative muscle metabolism of EXT pigs.</p>