The relative expression of eleven egg performance-associated genes including the tau-crystallin/α enolase (ENO1), ribosomal protein S27a (RPS27A), calmodulin 1 (CALM1), solute carrier family 25 A6 (SLC25A6), arylsulfatase A (ARSA), syndecan 2 (SDC2), ribosomal protein L10a (RPL10A), ornithine decarboxylase antizyme 1 (OAZ1), cytochrome c somatic variant 2 (CYCS), adenosine triphosphate synthase, H⁺ transporting, α subunit, isoform 1 (ATP5A1) and the ring finger protein 130 (RNF130) in the ovaries of pre-laying and laying Zi geese were analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Comparison between pre-laying and egg-laying stages, the relative expression of ENO1, RPS27A, SLC25A6, ARSA, SDC2, RPL10A, OAZ1, CYCS and RNF130 were significantly up-regulated (P<0.05), whereas the CALM1 and ATP5A1 were highly significantly up-regulated (P<0.01). This study established the primary foundation to understand the possible roles of these genes in the ovaries.

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This is the first study in which genetic diversity of eight chicken populations including Satsumadori, Satsuma-jidori and three populations each of improved and commercial chicken by using 102 indels markers. Both of Satsumadori and Satsuma-jidori were referred to as Satsuma’s chickens in this study. The proportion of polymorphic loci, average observed and expected heterozygosities were ranged from 0.500 to 0.814, from 0.147 to 0.257 and from 0.175 to 0.247, respectively. Monomorphic indels loci being specific to a particular population were detected in some populations. The coefficients of genetic differentiation (Gst) of the Satsuma’s chickens and six populations of improved and commercial chickens were 0.124 and 0.287, respectively. The Gst for all populations was 0.329. The (Ds) genetic distance matrixes for all possible pairs (28 pairs) of populations were estimated from allele frequency to construct UPGMA tree. The UPGMA tree clearly divided Satsuma’s chickens and the other populations. The 2-D scatter plots of PCA analysis assembled the individuals into their respective populations.

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Lmbr1 has been reported to be associated with chicken polydactyly and carcass traits. Based on the hypothesis that chicken Lmbr1 should have multiple alternative splices as human and mouse Lmbr1/C7orf2, we successfully identified one novel chicken Lmbr1 transcript variant (designated as Lmbr1-2) by bioinformatics analysis and RT-PCR confirmation. Chicken Lmbr1-2 transcript was predicted to encode a 30 amino acid protein. Lmbr1-2 transcript was ubiquitously expressed in a range of chicken tissues. A SNP (rs14135851: G>T, also named as 288G>T reference to 603234777F1) was found to be located at the 5′ boundary (first base) of alternatively spliced exon (IN2) of chicken Lmbr1-2. Eight variants/10 haplotypes were detected from 4 breeds in a 300-bp genomic fragment surrounding 288G>T. The 288T>G and 331G>A changes were predicted resulting to the formation/loss of SRSF5 and SRSF6 motifs. The genotype/allele distribution for a G/A variant (331G>A, reference to 603234777F1) and haplotype types in polydactylous Silkie presented distinct difference with that in other four-toed breed chickens. Association analysis showed that chicken 331G>A variation had significant effect on meat quality traits including breast muscle water loss rate, leg muscle water loss rate and leg muscle fiber density, and carcass traits including evisceration weight, pancreas weight in Gushi chicken F₂ resource population. These data demonstrated that chicken Lmbr1 was alternatively spliced to produce multiple splice forms as was the case in mammals, and it suggested that chicken Lmbr1-2 variation might have important effect on the carcass and meat quality traits in chicken.

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At present, in Japan, it seems to be very valuable to increase the production of self-sufficient forage crops to reuse rice fields that have been abandoned and are no longer cultivated. Furthermore, the advantage of increased production of self-sufficient forage crops has the potency to overcome the higher costs of imported feedstuffs like corn grain and soybean meal from oversea. In the present study, therefore, ground corn grain was substituted for rice grain in diets, and the influence of dietary rice grain with 3 types of particle size, i.e. unhulled rice grain, rice grain ground with 2 mm of particle size and powder rice grain, on growth performance and serum amino acid concentrations was examined. Throughout the experimental period, body weight gain in chickens fed a diet containing 60% of unhulled rice grain was the lowest of all. When half (30% in diets) of corn was substituted for unhulled rice grain, body weight gain was not affected by feeding unhulled rice grain. Body weight gain of chickens given either ground or powder rice grain was similar to that of birds fed a 60% corn diet. There were no significant differences in feed intake among all dietary treatments. When chickens were fed a diet containing unhulled or ground rice grain, gizzard was heavier than that of birds fed a 60% corn diet. Serum concentrations of isoleucine and valine were increased by feeding diets including 60% of rice powder, and serum isoleucine concentration significantly correlated to the change in body weight gain. From these results, it was concluded that 60% of ground (<2 mm) rice grain, 60% of powder rice grain and 30% of unhulled or ground rice grain were comparable to diets containing 60% of ground (<2 mm) corn to attain the appropriate body weight gain.

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We investigated the effects of dietary β-1,4-mannobiose (MNB) on the weights of body, breast muscles, thighs, liver, and abdominal adipose tissue in growing broiler chicks to evaluate whether MNB can be used as a feed additive for broiler chicks. A total of 24 eight day-old male broiler chicks were allocated to two cages and fed a control diet or a 0.01% MNB-supplemented diet for 14 days. Dietary MNB significantly increased the relative weight of breast muscles, whereas the weights of the body, thighs, liver and abdominal adipose tissue were not affected. The myostatin mRNA level in the breast muscle was significantly reduced by MNB. Since myostatin is a negative regulator of myoblast proliferation and differentiation, it is possible that the downregulation of myostatin gene expression is involved in the increased breast muscle growth with MNB. The plasma 3-methyl histidine level, which is known to be a nonmetabolizable amino acid marker of myofibrillar protein catabolism, and the breast muscle atrogin-1 mRNA level, which is involved in protein catabolism, were not affected by dietary MNB. In addition, MNB did not affect protease mRNA levels in the breast muscles. These results suggest that MNB does not affect proteolysis in the breast muscles. All our findings suggest that MNB is a promising candidate feed additive to improve the meat yield of broiler chickens.

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Two experiments were conducted using male Ross-308 broilers. Exp. 1 was to determine the differences in liver transcriptomic profile of healthy broilers at 39 days (D39) vs. 21 days of age (D21), and of ascites vs. healthy broilers at D39 by GeneChips, under a low-temperature environment. Differentially expressed genes related to liver antioxidative capacity and energy metabolism were screened. Exp. 2 was to analyze the regulatory roles of L-carnitine on genes and biochemical parameters involved in liver oxidoreduction and energy metabolism. The results showed that the expression of 790 genes in D39 vs D21 healthy broilers (386 up- and 404 down-regulated) and expression of 178 genes in ascites vs. healthy broilers on D39 (128 up- and 50 down-regulated) was changed. The analysis of pathway and GO indicated that genes related to amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, Krebs cycle, carbohydrate metabolism, vitamin metabolism, cell apoptosis, immune response, oxidoreduction, angiogenesis, nitric oxide formation and erythrocyte differentiation were involved in the development of ascites. Liver MDA level of ascites broilers was significantly increased, but the activity of T-SOD was significantly decreased than healthy broilers. The activity of liver HK, MDH, PK and Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase was significantly lower in ascites broilers. The expression of liver HKDC1 and PCK1 was significantly down-regulated, and that of HNF-4α and AKR1B10 expression was significantly up-regulated. L-carnitine supplementation significantly increased the activity of T-SOD and PK, and significantly up-regulated HKDC1 and HNF-4α expression. It can be concluded that genes involved in many biological processes are differentially expressed due to ascites. Liver oxidation damage and energy generation obstruction were found in broilers with ascites. L-carnitine can alleviate the liver oxidative damage and promote the generation and utilization of energy. The present results demonstrated that L-carnitine could serve as a potential regulatory agent to reduce ascites susceptibility and mortality.

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When tryptophan is glycated with glucose, it results in forming two types of glycated tryptophan compounds, glucose-tryptophan Amadori product and (1R, 3S)-1-(D-gluco-1,2,3,4,5-pentahydroxypentyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid (PHP-THβC). As hyperglycemia and high body temperature are the characteristics in avian species, these are supposed to elevate the concentration of glycated tryptophan compounds in the plasma of chickens. However, there was no attempt to detect two types of glycated tryptophan compounds in the plasma of chickens, so far. Therefore, young chickens were fed tryptophan-excess diets (0, 1, 2 or 3% excess) for 14 days, and glycated tryptophan compounds were detected using a liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer (LC/MS). In the present study, two types of glycated tryptophan compounds, glucose-tryptophan Amadori product and PHP-THβC, were successfully detected in the plasma of chickens, and plasma levels of both glycated tryptophan compounds significantly correlated to plasma tryptophan concentration.

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The present study was conducted to examine the effects of L-carnitine on pulmonary hypertensive response in broiler chickens reared at high altitude and exposed to hypobaric hypoxia. A total of 192 day-old male broilers (Cobb 500) were randomly assigned to 4 treatments and 4 replicates of 12 chicks. A basal diet composed of mainly corn and soybean meal was formulated and served as a control. Three additional treatments were made by supplementing graded levels of L-carnitine (50, 100, and 150 mg/kg). Chicks received dietary treatments at free access from 1 to 42 days of age. Results indicated that feeding L-carnitine at 100 mg/kg caused a significant increase in plasma nitric oxide (NO) with concomitant decrease in plasma malonedialdehyde (MDA). The Lead II electrocardiogram indicated reductions of S wave amplitude for all three doses of L-carnitine relative to the control and the difference between the birds that received L-carnitine at 50 mg/kg and the control was significant (P<0.05). The right ventricular weight ratio (RV/TV) tended to decline when L-carnitine supplemented to diets. In conclusion, L-carnitine reduced ascites mortality in broiler chickens by increased NO production, reduced MDA concentration, and reduced right ventricular hypertrophy.

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In this study, the effect of β₂-agonist clenbuterol administration was investigated in chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) at 6 days of age. Chicks were given single subcutaneous administration of clenbuterol dissolved in saline at a concentration of 1 mg/kg body weight. Twenty-four hours after clenbuterol administration, the ratio of skeletal muscle weight to body weight was increased in chicks treated with clenbuterol, while their body and heart weight were not affected. Although expressions of IGF-I and myostatin mRNA were not changed, the expression of atrogin-1/MAFbx mRNA was significantly decreased by clenbuterol administration. This observation suggested that administration of clenbuterol to neonatal chicks might increase the proportion of muscle mass to body mass. And the decreased expression of atrogin-1/MAFbx might be involved in the growth of skeletal muscle of chicks treated with clenbuterol.

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Quail are divided phylogenetically into two groups, Old World quail and New World quail. Old World quail, such as the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), belong to the Phasianidae and distributed in the Palaearctic region (Europe, North Africa, and Asia), whereas New World quail, such as the bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus), belong to the Odontophoridae and are restricted to North and South America. Both the bobwhite quail and the Japanese quail are used as models for avian safety assessment as recommended by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines. However, biological studies on the bobwhite quail have been limited compared with those on the Japanese quail. We have therefore now developed an ex vivo culture protocol for bobwhite quail embryos from the blastoderm stage through hatching. Of the various culture conditions examined in the present study, a good hatching rate (39%) was obtained when the embryos were cultured ex vivo in a two-step procedure. Unincubated embryos (with egg yolk) were first cultured inside the shell of a Japanese quail eggs (11.5 to 13.0 g whole egg weight) together with chicken thin albumen for 63 to 65 h and were then transferred to the shell of a small-sized chicken egg (38 g whole egg weight) until hatching. This ex vivo culture system should provide to be widely applicable to the maintenance and generation of manipulated birds for basic and applied studies on the bobwhite quail.

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There are more than 70 proteins in chicken egg white, most of which have a role in host defense. We isolated a novel protein from chicken egg white which we termed EW135 by means of polyethylene glycol precipitation and ion-exchange chromatography, and an amino acid sequence analysis of its tryptic peptides showed it to be a member of the group B scavenger receptor cysteine-rich domain superfamily. EW135 was speculated to be complexed with a substance (s) in egg white in a Ca²⁺-dependent manner. From a structural point of view, EW135 may play a role in host defense.

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In the present study, we determined the effects of oral administration of L- and D-aspartate (L-Asp and D-Asp) on food intake over a period of 2 h after the administration, as well as its effects on the concentration of L- and D-Asp in the brain and plasma. Chicks were orally administered different levels (0, 3.75, 7.5 and 15 mmol/kg body weight) of L-Asp (Experiment 1) and D-Asp (Experiment 2). Administration of several doses of L-Asp linearly increased the concentration of L-Asp, but not of D-Asp, in plasma. Oral L-Asp somewhat modified the levels of L- and D-Asp levels in the telencephalon, but not in the diencephalon. However, food intake was not significantly changed with doses of L-Asp. On the other hand, D-Asp strongly and dose-dependently inhibited food intake over a period of 2 h after the administration. Oral D-Asp clearly increased D-Asp levels in the plasma and diencephalon, but no significant changes in L-Asp were detected. Brain monoamine contents were only minimally influenced by L- or D-Asp administration. We conclude that D-Asp may act as an anorexigenic factor in the diencephalon.

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This study evaluated the effects of a blend of anhydrous aluminum chloride and calcium carbonate on poultry litter properties, such as pH, NH₃ emissions, and nitrogen (N) content, over a 4-week period. The chemical treatment agents used in this study were added to the poultry litter, with rice hulls at a rate of 40 g aluminum chloride＋60 g calcium carbonate/kg litter and mixed into the upper 1 cm of litter; untreated poultry litter acted as the control. When a combination of anhydrous AlCl₃ and CaCO₃ was used as an additive, NH₃ emissions were significantly reduced (P<0.05) by 55.3%, 56.4%, 40.1%, and 35.8% after 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks, respectively, unlike that in the control groups. Additionally, the litter pH was observed to reduce (from 6.87 to 8.23). Over time, total N and NH₄-N contents significantly increased (P<0.05) in litter samples with the added combination of anhydrous AlCl₃ and CaCO₃, unlike that observed in the control litter. However, no significant differences (P>0.05) were observed between the control and treated litters for total N at 4 weeks or NH₄-N at 2 and 4 weeks. In conclusion, we have shown that adding a combination of chemicals to litter may be a beneficial strategy to decrease NH₃ and N loss from poultry litter.

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The beneficial effects of dietary selenium (Se) supplementation for poultry and the distribution of Se in tissues have been well documented, but the functionalities of the Se-enriched products are much less concerned. Alcohol induces liver injury by initiating oxidative stress and antioxidant therapy has been proposed as an effective way of reducing the injury. Because a correlation between Se and antioxidant capability has been established, the alleviation effect of the Se-enriched fatty goose liver (SFGL, containing 900 μg/kg Se) on alcohol-induced liver injury was studied. Mice were daily fed with 2.5, 5, and 10 g/kg·bw SFGL and common fatty goose liver (CFGL, containing 200 μg/kg Se) one hour after ethanol administration and the animals were scarified and the blood and liver were collected for analysis on day 21. Results indicated that SFGL was more effective in reducing the hepatosomatic index and the degree of steatosis than CFGL. SFGL in all the three doses normalized the lipid metabolism and the activities of ALT and AST, indicating that SFGL attenuated the alcohol-induced liver injury. SFGL decreased the serum and hepatic ADH activities and the MDA content, implying that the liver injury attenuation effect of SGFL was related to oxidative stress reduction. The measurement of antioxidant variables, including GSH-Px, GSH, and SOD, revealed that the levels of these molecules were significantly increased after SFGL ingestion, confirming that SFGL alleviated alcohol-induced liver injury by enhancing the antioxidant capability. It was concluded that Se-enriched poultry tissues are potential remediators against alcohol-induced liver injury.

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