Artificial selection for improved energy efficiency is reaching its limits in broiler chickens

Tallentire, C.W.; Leinonen, Ilkka; Kyriazakis, Ι.

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-19231-2

Cited by 60 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…In the past 50 years, in order to fulfil the worldwide increasing demand for poultry meat, selection programs have been carried out to improve the production traits of broiler chickens and develop high growth‐rate and breast‐yield hybrids. As a consequence, outstanding results in broilers’ growth performances and body composition were achieved and the number of rearing days necessary to obtain market weight birds was reduced to one‐half (Petracci, Soglia, & Berri, ; Tallentire, Leinonen, & Kyriazakis, ). In spite of that upgraded production profitability, these selection practices profoundly altered muscle architecture (that is, increase muscle fiber diameter and length, increase myofiber number, reduction in capillary density, and capillary to fiber ratio) and metabolism leading to a shift toward the glycolytic pathway (Hoving‐Bolin, Kranen, Klont, Gerritsen, & De Greef, ).…”

Section: Underlying Causes Of Wb Ws and Smmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wooden‐Breast, White Striping, and Spaghetti Meat: Causes, Consequences and Consumer Perception of Emerging Broiler Meat Abnormalities

Petracci

Soglia

Madruga

et al. 2019

Comp Rev Food Sci Food Safe

263

325

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Ten years ago, the occurrence of macroscopic defects in breasts muscles from fast‐growing broilers challenged producers and animal scientists to label and characterize myopathies wholly unknown. The distinctive white striations in breasts affected by white striping disorder, the presence of out‐bulging and pale areas of hardened consistency in the so‐called wooden breast, and the separation of the fiber bundles in breasts labelled as spaghetti meat, made these myopathies easily identified in chicken carcasses. Yet, the high incidence of these myopathies and the increasing concern by producers and retailers led to an unprecedented flood of questions on the causes and consequences of these abnormal chicken breasts. This review comprehensively collects the most relevant information from studies aimed to understand the pathological mechanisms of these myopathies, their physicochemical and histological characterization and their impact on meat quality and consumer's preferences. Today, it is known that the occurrence is linked to fast‐growth rates of the birds and their large breast muscles. The muscle hypertrophy along with an unbalanced growth of supportive connective tissue leads to a compromised blood supply and hypoxia. The occurrence of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction leads to lipidosis, fibrosis, and overall myodegeneration. Along with the altered appearance, breast muscles affected by the myopathies display poor technological properties, impaired texture properties, and reduced nutritional value. As consumer's awareness on the occurrence of these abnormalities and the concerns on animal welfare arise, efforts are made to inhibit the onset of the myopathies or alleviate the severity of the symptoms. The lack of fully effective dietary strategies leads scientists to propose whether “slow” production systems may alternatively provide with poultry meat free of these myopathies.

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Section: Underlying Causes Of Wb Ws and Smmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wooden‐Breast, White Striping, and Spaghetti Meat: Causes, Consequences and Consumer Perception of Emerging Broiler Meat Abnormalities

Petracci

Soglia

Madruga

et al. 2019

Comp Rev Food Sci Food Safe

263

325

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“…As these broilers eat less feed and take less time to reach slaughter weight, they have a reduced environmental impact compared to slower growing alternatives [49]. For example, faster growing broiler production was calculated to have a greenhouse gas emission of about 5 CO 2 -equivalent kg per bird while the slower growing birds were calculated to have emissions just over 6 CO 2 -equivalent kg per bird [50]. However this analyses did not take into account losses from mortality and meat quality downgrades which are larger in faster than slower growing broiler production and would increase environmental burdens so it is not clear how big the difference actually is on a flock basis.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Slow and steady wins the race: The behaviour and welfare of commercial faster growing broiler breeds compared to a commercial slower growing breed

Dixon

2020

PLoS ONE

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Broilers have been bred for fast growth which has led to welfare problems such as high mortality, lameness and skin lesions. Slower growing breeds are thought to have better welfare but are not as efficient in production. This study investigated welfare, behaviour, production and meat quality of faster growing broilers from three main commercial broiler companies (breeds FA, FB and FC) with a commercially available slower growing breed (Hubbard JA757, S). Four hundred birds of each breed (total 1600 birds) were reared in pens of 50 birds, 8 per breed (total 32 pens). Home pen behaviour was recorded once a week in hourly scan samples to get behavioural time budgets. Welfare Assessments (WA) were done when the average bird weight per breed was 2.2 and 2.5kg. Birds and feed supplied were regularly weighed by pen and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) and Average Daily Gain (ADG) were calculated at 2.2kg. Birds were then slaughtered and meat quality measures were taken. S and FC had lower mortality and culls due to lameness (P<0.05 for both). Breeds FA, FB and FC grew faster, ate less feed and had better FCR and ADG (P<0.05 for all). S had scores indicating higher welfare for the majority of WA measures and spent more time active and less time sitting, feeding and drinking than the other breeds (P<0.05 for all). Faster growing breeds had more breast meat and S had more leg meat; although S had better meat quality scores (P<0.05). Overall, S birds have improved welfare in terms of activity and welfare measure scores compared to the other breeds but take longer to reach slaughter weight and are not as efficient in production measures. However if lower mortality and improved meat quality are taken into account, as well as the premium price paid for these birds, slower growing broilers may be a viable commercial option.

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“…As previously reported, the different selective processes applied to the two genotypes may have exerted changes in their feeding behaviour. In order to maximize growth rate, broiler chickens have been selected for decades for increased feed intake (Tallentire, Leinonen, & Kyriazakis, 2018), resulting in hyperphagic, heavy and obese animals (Piekarski, Greene, Anthony, Bottje, & Dridi, 2015;Piekarski-Welsher, Bottje, & Dridi, 2016). Recent evidence supported that modern meat-type chickens tend to consume feed to maximize gut fill (Classen, 2016;Ferket & Gernat, 2006).…”

Section: Cell Activation Migration and Adhesion 12mentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in productive performance and intestinal transcriptomic profile in two modern fast‐growing chicken hybrids

Zampiga

Bertocchi

Bosi

et al. 2018

Animal Physiology Nutrition

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This study aimed to characterize growth performance and ileum transcriptomic profile of two fast‐growing chicken hybrids (HA and HB). A total of 1,170 one‐day‐old female chicks (n = 585 per genotype) were weighed and randomly divided into 18 pens (9 replications/group). Both the groups received the same commercial diet (starter, 0–9 days; grower I, 10–21 days; grower II, 22–34 days; and finisher, 35–43 days). Body weight (BW), daily feed intake (DFI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were determined on a pen basis at the end of each feeding phase. At the processing (43 days), incidence of footpad dermatitis (FPD) was evaluated on all the birds and ileum mucosa was collected from 1 bird/replication. Total mRNA was extracted to perform microarray analysis (Chicken Gene 1.1ST Array Strip), and an exploratory pathway analysis was then conducted (Gene Set Enrichment Analysis software). The two genotypes showed different growth patterns throughout the study. HA birds exhibited higher BW and better FCR than HB after 9 days (228 vs. 217 g and 1.352 vs. 1.419, respectively, p < 0.05). At 21, 34 and 43 days, HB birds reported higher BW (807 vs. 772 g; 1,930 vs. 1,857 g and 2,734 vs. 2,607 g, respectively; p < 0.01), DFI (74.9 vs. 70.6 g bird−1 day−1, p < 0.01; 144.4 vs. 139.6 g bird−1 day−1, p = 0.06; and 196.5 vs. 182.4 g bird−1 day−1, p < 0.01) and similar FCR compared to HA ones. HB group showed a higher percentage of birds with no FPD (75% vs. 48%; p < 0.001). Transcriptomic analysis revealed enriched gene sets for mitochondria, cellular energy metabolism, and cell structure and integrity in ileum mucosa of HA broilers and enriched gene sets for immune system activation, cell signalling and inflammation in HB ones. In conclusion, these results indicated that the two chicken genotypes are characterized by different growth patterns, feeding behaviour and gene expression profiles in the intestinal mucosa.

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Artificial selection for improved energy efficiency is reaching its limits in broiler chickens

Cited by 60 publications

References 45 publications

Wooden‐Breast, White Striping, and Spaghetti Meat: Causes, Consequences and Consumer Perception of Emerging Broiler Meat Abnormalities

Wooden‐Breast, White Striping, and Spaghetti Meat: Causes, Consequences and Consumer Perception of Emerging Broiler Meat Abnormalities

Slow and steady wins the race: The behaviour and welfare of commercial faster growing broiler breeds compared to a commercial slower growing breed

Differences in productive performance and intestinal transcriptomic profile in two modern fast‐growing chicken hybrids

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