Residual Feed Intake: a Nutritional Tool for Genetic Improvement

Overview

Journal Trop Anim Health Prod

Publisher Springer

Specialties Tropical Medicine
Veterinary Medicine

Date 2013 Nov 1

PMID 24174268

Citations 16

Authors

Leilson Rocha Bezerra

Jose Lindenberg Rocha Sarmento

Severino Gonzaga Neto

Ney Romulo Oliveira de Paula

Ronaldo Lopes Oliveira

Wagner Martins Fontes do Rego

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The goal of this bibliographical study was to provide information about residual feed intake (RFI), a new criterion used in the selection of beef cattle for growth rate, food ingestion, and feed efficiency. RFI is calculated as the difference between real consumption and the quantity of food an animal is expected to eat based on its mean live weight and rate of weight gain. In studies of RFI, many speculations are made among researchers about the reliability of this criterion. However, there is a high genetic correlation with characteristics related to post-weaning consumption and maturity, indicating that the biological processes that regulate consumption and efficiency in young animals are similar to the processes that regulate consumption and efficiency in animals of greater age. In contrast to feed conversion, selection based on RFI seems to select for lower rates of consumption and lower animal maintenance requirements without changing adult weight or weight gain. Therefore, we conclude that the data indicate that there are extraordinary benefits to be gained from changing the goals of selection from increased weight gain to improved nutritional efficiency. Given the importance of animal production for economic development in Brazil choosing the best selection goals for livestock improvement is essential. To include an index of feed efficiency in future goals would be desirable, and RFI may play a part in this if economic methods of implementation can be developed.

Citing Articles

Nutritional carryover effects of the previous plane of nutrition of crossbred Angus steers affects freshwater intake, animal performance, and water and feed efficiency.

da Silva A, Macias Franco A, de Moura F, Norris A, Bangert K, Bezerra L Transl Anim Sci. 2025; 9:txaf006.

PMID: 39896334 PMC: 11786216. DOI: 10.1093/tas/txaf006.

Exploring the molecular basis of efficient feed utilization in low residual feed intake slow-growing ducks based on breast muscle transcriptome.

Wu L, Zhuang Z, Jia W, Li Y, Lu Y, Xu M Poult Sci. 2024; 104(1):104613.

PMID: 39631277 PMC: 11652873. DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.104613.

Insight into the Gut-Brain Axis and the Productive Performance and Egg Quality Response to Leaf Flavonoid Supplementation in Late-Laying Hens.

Tang S, Hu Y, Luo J, Hu M, Chen M, Ye D Animals (Basel). 2024; 14(19).

PMID: 39409728 PMC: 11475341. DOI: 10.3390/ani14192780.

Effects of rumen-bypass protein supplement on growth performance, hepatic mitochondrial protein complexes, and hepatic immune gene expression of beef steers with divergent residual feed intake.

Idowu M, Taiwo G, Sidney T, Treon E, Leal Y, Ologunagba D PLoS One. 2024; 19(7):e0293718.

PMID: 38959213 PMC: 11221652. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293718.

Predicting dry matter intake in beef cattle.

Blake N, Walker M, Plum S, Hubbart J, Hatton J, Mata-Padrino D J Anim Sci. 2023; 101.

PMID: 37561392 PMC: 10503641. DOI: 10.1093/jas/skad269.

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