Pertinent plasma indicators of the ability of chickens to synthesize and store lipids1

Abstract

Excessive deposition of body fat is detrimental to production efficiency. The aim of this study was to provide plasma indicators of chickens' ability to store fat. From 3 to 9 wk of age, chickens from 2 experimental lines exhibiting a 2.5-fold difference in abdominal fat content and fed experimental diets with contrasted feed energy sources were compared. The diets contained 80 vs. 20 g of lipids and 379 vs. 514 g of starch per kg of feed, respectively, but had the same ME and total protein contents. Cellulose was used to dilute energy in the high-fat diet. At 9 wk of age, the body composition was analyzed and blood samples were collected. A metabolome-wide approach based on proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was associated with conventional measurements of plasma parameters. A metabolomics approach showed that betaine, glutamine, and histidine were the most discriminating metabolites between groups. Betaine, uric acid, triglycerides, and phospholipids were positively correlated (r > 0.3; P < 0.05) and glutamine, histidine, triiodothyronine, homocysteine, and β-hydroxybutyrate were negatively correlated (r < -0.3; P < 0.05) with relative weight of abdominal fat and/or fat situated at the top of external face of the thigh. The combination of plasma free fatty acids, total cholesterol, phospholipid, β-hydroxybutyrate, glutamine, and methionine levels accounted for 74% of the variability of the relative weight of abdominal fat. On the other hand, the combination of plasma triglyceride and homocysteine levels accounted for 37% of the variability of fat situated at the top of external face of the thigh. The variations in plasma levels of betaine, homocysteine, uric acid, glutamine, and histidine suggest the implication of methyl donors in the control of hepatic lipid synthesis and illustrate the interplay between AA, glucose, and lipid metabolisms in growing chickens.

Accumulation of α-hexabromocyclododecane (α-HBCDD) in tissues of fast- and slow-growing broilers (Gallus domesticus)

“…In accordance with previous observations (Marion and Woodroof, 1965;Santoso et al, 1995;Baéza et al, 2015), 83 ± 1% of leg muscles lipids were neutral, due to the presence of intermuscular fat, while this proportion was 71 ± 1% in breast muscle, 65 ± 1% in liver and 49 ± 1% in plasma, irrespective of the strain (Table S6). Although not assessed in the current study, lipids profile in abdominal fat are almost totally made of neutral lipids (Sinanoglou et al, 2011).…”

“…By the end of the 18-week exposure period, 19% of ingested -HBCDD had been eliminated through eggs and 19% was estimated to be retained in body tissues, mainly adipose tissues, yielding concentrations in abdominal fat, expressed as ng g -1 lw, 9.2 times higher than in feed. According to the model developed by MacLachlan et al (2010), the tissues of fast-growing (FG) broilers submitted to the same dietary concentration of -HBCDD would be around two times more concentrated than those of laying hens mainly due to 1. the absence of egg as an elimination route and 2. the higher relative affinity of non-polar lipophilic compounds to tissues due to the 4 to 5 times lower blood lipid concentration (Walzem et al, 1994;Baéza et al, 2015). In addition to FG broilers, which are an international standard, consumers demand products from alternative systems such as organic systems, involving slow-growing (SG) animals, which, for a raising time almost twice as long, ingest more feed for an often lower market weight, yielding a lower feed efficiency, and display different tissue growth and lipid content (Quentin et al, 2003).…”

RNA-Seq Analysis of Abdominal Fat in Genetically Fat and Lean Chickens Highlights a Divergence in Expression of Genes Controlling Adiposity, Hemostasis, and Lipid Metabolism

“…To maintain a similar body weight despite large differences in abdominal fatness, FL chickens appear to favor partitioning of nutrients (particularly dietary amino acids) into abdominal fat; they also have a higher protein turnover rate [ 54 ]. Recent metabolomics studies have clearly demonstrated that the FL and LL chickens are able to maintain their fat and lean phenotypes independent of dietary energy sources, albeit the fatty acid composition of abdominal fat was affected by genotype [ 32 , 55 ]. On the other hand, LL chickens have a greater lean muscle mass and conversely a lower abdominal fat content than do the FL chickens.…”

“…In fact, the FL chicken appears to be more sensitive to insulin [ 31 ] as indicated by their higher rate of glucose utilization and enhanced hepatic lipogenesis [ 26 , 35 ], higher secretion of very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) [ 27 ], and their greater storage capacity of lipids in abdominal fat [ 68 ]. Furthermore, the divergence in abdominal fatness in the FL and LL chickens does not depend on the type of dietary energy, which indicates genetic control [ 32 , 55 ]. Since the liver is considered as the primary site of lipogenesis in birds [ 10 – 12 ], most previous studies of the FL and LL were directed at understanding the genetic difference in hepatic lipogenesis, rather than the lipogenic capacity of abdominal fat.…”

Effect of dietary arginine to lysine ratios on productive performance, meat quality, plasma and muscle metabolomics profile in fast-growing broiler chickens

“…The extraordinary advances achieved in innovative analytical techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) pave the possibility to investigate the global variations of metabolite profiles in body fluids or tissues in response to dietary treatments [ 18 ]. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the effects of dietary arginine supplementation on growth performance, breast meat quality, incidence and severity of breast muscle myopathies and foot pad dermatitis, as well as plasma and muscle metabolomics profile in modern broilers.…”