The current study aimed to demonstrate the effects of dietary dried orange pulp (DOP) on the laying performance, egg quality, antioxidant status, yolk fatty acid composition, serum biochemistry, and reproductive tract morphology of laying hens. A total of 200 Lohman Brown Lite laying hens were randomly allotted into 4 dietary treatments with 10 replicates each. The experimental treatment groups were the control group, a basal diet containing 50 g DOP/kg feed (DOP5%), a basal diet containing 70 g DOP/kg feed (DOP7%), and a basal diet containing 100 g DOP/kg feed (DOP10%). Data were statistically analyzed by one-way ANOVA following a completely randomized design, and the incremental levels of dietary DOP were tested by orthogonal polynomial contrasts. The body weight gain, feed intake, egg production%, egg weight, egg mass, and feed conversion ratio of laying hens fed the DOP7% and DOP10% diets were greater (p < 0.01) than those fed the control diet. Eggs obtained from the DOP7% and DOP10% groups had a heavier shell weight% and shell thickness, as well as a greater yolk color score (p < 0.01; linear, p < 0.01). Dietary DOP improved the egg yolk concentrations of PUFA, n-3 PUFA, and n-6 PUFA (linear, p < 0.001; quadratic, p < 0.05), whereas the content of SFA was reduced (p < 0.001; linear, p < 0.001). The egg yolk cholesterol and triglyceride levels were linearly decreased (p < 0.001) with the inclusion of DOP in the diets of hens. After storage for 40 days, the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents in the egg yolk were reduced, whereas the glutathione peroxidase content was increased (p < 0.01) due to dietary DOP. The DOP7% and DOP10% hens had an obvious reduction in the levels of serum total lipids, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, and MDA, whereas high-density lipoprotein and GPx levels were increased (p < 0.01) compared with those fed the control diet. The relative weights of the ovary, oviduct, uterus, and follicle of hens receiving diets containing 7% and 10% DOP were heavier (p < 0.01) than those of the control hens. Moreover, the number of large yellow follicles was increased (p < 0.001; linear, p < 0.001) in the hens-fed diets containing 7% and 10% DOP. In conclusion, dietary DOP at up to 100 g/kg of feed improves laying performance, health status, antioxidant capacity, egg nutritive value, and egg shelf life in laying hens.
Due to iron’s essential role in cellular metabolism, most organisms must maintain their homeostasis. In this regard, the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe (sp) uses two transcription factors to regulate intracellular iron levels: spFep1 under iron-rich conditions and spPhp4 under iron-deficient conditions, which are controlled by spGrx4. However, bioinformatics analysis to understand the role of the spGrx4/spFep1/spPhp4 axis in maintaining iron homeostasis in S. pombe is still lacking. Our study aimed to perform bioinformatics analysis on S. pombe proteins and their sequence homologs in Aspergillus flavus (af), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (sc), and Homo sapiens (hs) to understand the role of spGrx4, spFep1, and spPhp4 in maintaining iron homeostasis. The three genes’ expression patterns were also examined at various iron concentrations. A multiple sequence alignment analysis of spGrx4 and its sequence homologs revealed a conserved cysteine residue in each PF00085 domain. Blast results showed that hsGLRX3 is most similar to spGrx4. In addition, spFep1 is most closely related in sequence to scDal80, whereas scHap4 is most similar to spFep1. We also found two highly conserved motifs in spFep1 and its sequence homologs that are significant for iron transport systems because they contain residues involved in iron homeostasis. The scHap4 is most similar to spPhp4. Using STRING to analyze protein-protein interactions, we found that spGrx4 interacts strongly with spPhp4 and spFep1. Furthermore, spGrx4, spPhp4, and spFep1 interact with spPhp2, spPhp3, and spPhp5, indicating that the three proteins play cooperative roles in iron homeostasis. At the highest level of Fe, spgrx4 had the highest expression, followed by spfep1, while spphp4 had the lowest expression; a contrast occurred at the lowest level of Fe, where spgrx4 expression remained constant. Our findings support the notion that organisms develop diverse strategies to maintain iron homeostasis.
Grape pomace (GP) is an industrial by-product of grape juice making and is commonly discarded as a waste product, even with its large quantity of phytochemicals. Thus, the objectives of this trial were to examine the effects of graded dietary GP on laying rate, egg quality, yolk lipid profile, oxidative stability, shell quality and ultrastructure, and serum biochemistry. Two hundred 35-week-old laying hens were allocated to four dietary treatments with ten replicates each. Four diets were formulated by mixing a standard basal diet with GP at 0 g/kg (control), 30 g/kg (GP3%), 60 g/kg (GP6%), and 90 g/kg (GP9%). Egg production percent, egg weight, and egg mass were linearly improved (p < 0.01) due to adding GP to the diets of laying hens. Eggs obtained from laying hens fed with GP diets had (p < 0.01; linear, p < 0.01) greater Haugh units, yolk color, albumen index, and yolk index than those of the control. The GP9% group had the greatest values (p < 0.05) for shell weight, thickness, and breaking strength. Electron microscopy scanning of eggshells indicated that the incremental dietary level of GP linearly augmented the thickness of the palisade layer but reduced both the mammillary layer and mammillary knob width (p < 0.01). Improved tibia-breaking strength and ash content were shown (p < 0.05) in the GP-fed laying hens. The dietary addition of GP by up to 90 g/kg linearly (p < 0.01) mitigated lipid oxidation and improved the antioxidant capacity in both the serum and stored eggs. A reduction in the percentages of saturated fatty acids was observed, while the contents of monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and n-3 fatty acids were augmented because of increasing dietary GP levels (p < 0.001). Additionally, the eggs obtained from laying hens fed on the GP6% and GP9% had lower yolk cholesterol content (p < 0.001); this effect was confirmed by linear and quadratic responses (p < 0.001). Laying hens on GP diets had lower (p < 0.01) serum hepatic enzymes, cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein but greater high-density lipoprotein compared to the control. To sum up, the addition of GP in the layers’ diets by up to 90 g/kg increased laying performance, enriched the yolk with beneficial fatty acids, enhanced antioxidant potential in yolk lipids, and improved shell quality and ultrastructure.
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