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Context and challenges

The effects of occasional or moderately lengthy negative situations on the immune function are now well known. However, the impacts of long-term well-being or distress, associated with a stable mental state, have been less explored in farmed livestock. In the latter, the relative stability of living conditions and the opportunities they offer (or not) for the sustainable expression of behaviours that favour positive or negative feelings can affect emotional status over the long term. In particular, the enrichment of living conditions influences the expression of sociable behaviours that are central to the well-being of domestic animals. The BEPPI project aims to generate knowledge on the links between mental and physiological health in animals thanks to an approach involving several biological disciplines (immunology, neuro-immunology, cell metabolism, epigenetics and ethology).

We had previously demonstrated the beneficial effect of the enrichment of living conditions on the behaviour, salivary cortisol levels and immunity of sows, using animals on an experimental farm operated by the Chamber of Agriculture in Brittany. Two herds of sows were reared in parallel, one under conventional living conditions and the other under enriched conditions (more space, deep straw). BEPPI will use this model to better describe the impacts of enrichment on the behaviour and immune function of sows and their offspring and clarify the cellular mechanisms in play by exploring the metabolism and epigenetics of immune cells.

Objectives

1. To demonstrate the existence of different inflammatory profiles in sows reared under conventional and enriched conditions and in their direct progeny, using transcriptomic, epigenetic and cell biology approaches;
2. To describe the behaviour and social characteristics of sows in their groups and link these traits with the immune phenotype;
3. To demonstrate the involvement (or not) of epigenetic and metabolic mechanisms in the immune phenomena observed.

Species concerned

Partnerships

• Joint Research Unit for the Physiology, Environment, and Genetics for the Animal and Livestock Systems (UMR PEGASE), Animal Physiology and Livestock Systems (PHASE) division, INRAE: endocrinology, neuro-immunology, ethology.
• Joint Research Unit for Biology, Epidemiology and Risk Analysis in animal health (BIOEPAR), Animal Health (SA) Division, INRAE: immunology
• Joint Research Unit for Biology of Reproduction, Environment, Epigenetics and Development (UMR BREED), PHASE division, INRAE: reproductive physiology, epigenetics.
• External partner: Regional Chamber of Agriculture for Brittany: management, reproduction and evaluation of welfare on pig farms.