Expression profile of six stress-related genes and productive performances of fast and slow growing broiler strains reared under heat stress conditions

Abstract

High temperature is one of the prominent environmental factors causing economic losses to the poultry industry as it negatively affects growth and production performance in broiler chickens. We used One Step TaqMan real time RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) technology to study the effects of chronic heat stress on the expression of genes codifying for the antioxidative enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT), as well as for heat shock protein (HSP) 70, HSP90, glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1), and caspase 6 (CASP6) in the liver of two different broiler genetic strains: Red JA Cou Nu Hubbard (CN) and Ross 508 Aviagen (RO). CN is a naked neck slow growing broiler intended for the free range and/or organic markets, whereas RO is selected for fast growing. We also analysed the effect of chronic heat stress on productive performances, and plasma corticosterone levels as well as the association between transcriptomic response and specific SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in each genetic strain of broiler chickens. RO and CN broilers, 4 weeks of age, were maintained for 4 weeks at either 34 °C or 22 °C. The results demonstrated that there was a genotype and a temperature main effect on the broilers' growth from the 4th to the 8th week of age, but the interaction effect between genotype and temperature resulted not statistically significant. By considering the genotype effect, fast growing broilers (RO) grew more than the slow growing ones (CN), whereas by considering the temperature effect, broilers in unheated conditions grew more than the heat stressed ones. Corticosterone levels increased significantly in the blood of heat stressed broilers, due to the activation of the HPA (hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical axis). Carcass yield at slaughter was of similar values in the 4 cohorts (genotype/temperature combinations or treatment groups), ranging from 86.5 to 88.6%, whereas carcass weight was negatively influenced by heat stress in both broiler strains. Heat stress affected gene expression by downregulating CASP6 and upregulating CAT transcript levels. HSPs, SOD and NR3C1 mRNA levels remained unaffected by heat stress. The differences found in the mRNA copies of CASP6 gene could be partly explained by SNPs.

Ecological genomics predicts climate vulnerability in an endangered southwestern songbird

“…), two of which were physically linked (BRACA1 and RND2), and an additional five genes (Ecel1, SLC23A2, NOX4, PIRT and GR1N1) with GO terms related to other aspects of thermal tolerance, including respiratory system process, oxidative stress and response to heat (Rimoldi et al . ) (Table ). Three of the five genes from the poultry thermal stress study were found to be outliers in association with BIO4, Temperature Seasonality (Fig.…”

Field Interventions Against Colonization of Broilers by Campylobacter

“…Small‐scale trials mimicking cyclical heat stress (generally 31 °C and above) on birds in the later stages of rearing have demonstrated reduced production performance accompanied by elevated corticosterone plus immunosuppressive phenomena (Al‐Ghamdi, ; Campos et al., ; Lara & Rostagno, ; Park et al., ; Quinteiro‐Filho et al., , ; Rimoldi et al., ; Verbrugghe et al., ). Effects of heat stress on the gut, in particular, are indicated by evidence of mild enteritis (Quinteiro‐Filho et al., , ) and altered intestinal morphology in experimentally stressed birds (Burkholder, Thompson, Einstein, Applegate, & Patterson, ; Lara & Rostagno, ).…”

Effect of transport length onin vivooxidative status and breast meat characteristics in outdoor-reared chicken genotypes

“…Several studies have considered the effect of transport length and distance on animal welfare and resultant meat quality of broiler, but data on the interaction (genetic strain vs transport length) are lacking. Indeed, it is described that the effect of stress could be different in fast-and slow-growing strains (Rimoldi et al 2015). Fast-growing strains tended to produce meat with a slower pH decline, higher ultimate pH and consequently higher water-holding capacity (WHC) (Le Bihan-Duval et al 1999;Berri et al 2007).…”