Pork Production with Entire Males: Directions for Control of Boar Taint

Abstract

Boar taint is caused by the accumulation of androstenone and skatole and other indoles in the fat; this is regulated by the balance between synthesis and degradation of these compounds and can be affected by a number of factors, including environment and management practices, sexual maturity, nutrition, and genetics. Boar taint can be controlled by immunocastration, but this practice has not been accepted in some countries. Genetics offers a long-term solution to the boar taint problem via selective breeding or genome editing. A number of short-term strategies to control boar taint have been proposed, but these can have inconsistent effects and there is too much variability between breeds and individuals to implement a blanket solution for boar taint. Therefore, we propose a precision livestock management approach to developing solutions for controlling taint. This involves determining the differences in metabolic processes and the genetic variations that cause boar taint in specific groups of pigs and using this information to design custom treatments based on the cause of boar taint. Genetic, proteomic or metabolomic profiling can then be used to identify and implement effective solutions for boar taint for specific populations of animals.

Keywords: androstenone; boar taint; castration; metabolism; skatole; synthesis.

Figure 1

Flow chart of androstenone synthesis, metabolism and transport and factors affecting boar taint.

Figure 2

Pathways of androstenone synthesis and metabolism.

Figure 3

Propose mechanism for the reversible sulfation of androstenone.

Figure 4

Flow chart of skatole synthesis and metabolism and factors affecting boar taint.

Figure 5

Pathways of skatole metabolism.