Table 3. Least squares means of morphological characteristics of different intestinal segments in finishing pigs ranked on residual feed intake across geographic locations.
| ATc | ROIc | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parametera | Low RFI | High RFI | SEM | Low RFI | High RFI | SEM | RFI, P-Valued | Location, P-Valued | RFI × location, P-Valued |
| Duodenum | |||||||||
| Villus height (μm) | 775 | 732 | 38.61 | 543 | 541 | 27.28 | 0.401 | <0.001 | 0.443 |
| Villus width (μm) | 171 | 156 | 15.96 | 145 | 137 | 11.27 | 0.306 | 0.241 | 0.719 |
| Crypt depth (μm) | 323 | 411 | 49.71 | 522 | 556 | 35.12 | 0.084 | 0.005 | 0.442 |
| Muscularis layer (μm) | 737 | 703 | 46.38 | - | - | - | 0.585 | - | - |
| Villus height: crypt depth | 2.19 | 1.76 | 0.23 | 1.29 | 1.17 | 0.16 | 0.091 | 0.008 | 0.349 |
| Goblet cells (per villus height) | 19.4a | 12.4b | 1.550 | 9.7b | 11.6b | 1.095 | 0.021 | 0.006 | <0.001 |
| Jejunum | |||||||||
| Villus height (μm) | 505 | 524 | 31.120 | - | - | - | 0.640 | - | - |
| Villus width (μm) | 167 | 167 | 8.06 | - | - | - | 0.991 | - | - |
| Crypt depth (μm) | 226 | 231 | 18.370 | - | - | - | 0.814 | - | - |
| Muscularis layer (μm) | 531 | 472 | 41.46 | - | - | - | 0.300 | - | - |
| Villus height: crypt depth | 2.28 | 2.30 | 0.15 | - | - | - | 0.910 | - | - |
| Goblet cells (per villus height) | 16.44 | 24.38 | 1.848 | - | - | - | 0.008 | - | - |
| Ileum | |||||||||
| Villus height (μm) | 446 | 465 | 28.34 | 414 | 422 | 12.84 | 0.433 | 0.196 | 0.752 |
| Villus width (μm) | 179 | 194 | 10.33 | 182 | 179 | 4.68 | 0.367 | 0.568 | 0.157 |
| Crypt depth (μm) | 242 | 282 | 32.67 | 275 | 267 | 14.80 | 0.437 | 0.786 | 0.242 |
| Muscularis layer (μm) | 880 | 778 | 53.05 | - | - | - | 0.169 | - | - |
| Villus height: crypt depth | 1.98 | 1.73 | 0.226 | 1.57 | 1.72 | 0.102 | 0.726 | 0.370 | 0.173 |
| Goblet cells (per villus height) | 21.07 | 23.93 | 1.868 | 16.43 | 16.38 | 1.313 | 0.282 | 0.008 | 0.266 |
| Cecum | |||||||||
| Crypt depth (μm) | 489 | 504 | 31.36 | 324 | 318 | 26.76 | 0.816 | 0.002 | 0.587 |
| Goblet cells (per crypt depth) | 963 | 1031 | 14.83 | 405 | 373 | 11.38 | 0.822 | 0.008 | 0.527 |
Values are least squares means ± standard error of the mean (SEM).
a,b Mean values within a row with unlike superscript letters were significantly different (P < 0.05).
cAT, Austria; NI, Northern Ireland; ROI, Republic of Ireland. FE, feed efficiency; RFI, residual feed intake.
dP: probability level of fixed effects RFI, location and their two-way interaction.