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Effects of cage and floor rearing system on the factors of antioxidant defense and inflammatory injury in laying ducks.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Cage-rearing in laying ducks, as a novel rearing system, not only fundamentally solves the pollution problem of the duck industry and improve bio-safety and product quality but also exhibits more benefits by implementing standardized production compared with the floor-rearing. Of course, this system also brings some welfare problems and stress injuries to layers due to lack of water environment and limited activities in the cages. However, the effects on the factors of antioxidant defense and inflammatory injury in the early cage stage are not well-understood. RESULTS:In this study, eighty Shaoxing layers were reared on floor and in cages from 12?weeks of age. The ducks were caged 1, 2, 4, 7, and 10?days, the factors of antioxidant defense and inflammatory injury were investigated. The results showed that the caged ducks suffered liver injury to a certain extent when the ducks were just put into the cages. Analysis of antioxidant enzyme activities indicated that the different rearing system could not affect the change of antioxidant capacities, while the liver malondialdehyde (MDA) level was significant higher in the 2-d, 7-d, and 10-d ducks compared with the 1-d ducks during the change of days, while catalase (CAT) activity showed the opposite results. Additionally, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-RCR) revealed that the relative mRNA levels of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-related gene (CHOP and GRP78) were significantly upregulated in cage rearing ducks compared to that of the floor rearing ducks. Moreover, the mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines including cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2), nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1?), Interleukin 2 (IL-2) and Interleukin 6 (IL-6), were also increased significantly in caged layers. CONCLUSIONS:Taken together, although antioxidant defense has no obvious effect on cage stress, the stress levels of laying ducks vary greatly in the early cage stage, which not only caused liver tissue damage to some extent, but also resulted in increases in the expression of the factors of inflammatory injury. Therefore, we recommend that anti-stress agents should be added in the feed to alleviate the stress in the early cage stage.

SUBMITTER: Zhang Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6937681 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effects of cage and floor rearing system on the factors of antioxidant defense and inflammatory injury in laying ducks.

Zhang Yang Y Gu Tiantian T Tian Yong Y Chen Li L Li Guoqin G Zhou Wei W Liu Guofa G Wu Xinsheng X Zeng Tao T Xu Qi Q Chen Guohong G Lu Lizhi L

BMC genetics 20191230 1

<h4>Background</h4>Cage-rearing in laying ducks, as a novel rearing system, not only fundamentally solves the pollution problem of the duck industry and improve bio-safety and product quality but also exhibits more benefits by implementing standardized production compared with the floor-rearing. Of course, this system also brings some welfare problems and stress injuries to layers due to lack of water environment and limited activities in the cages. However, the effects on the factors of antioxi ...[more]

PMID: 31888457

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Project description:Simple Summary The rearing system is one of the significant non-genetic factors that influence growth performance and immune status in goose husbandry. Therefore, it is of great significance to understand the effects of two major dryland systems on goose growth performance and immune status. The current study revealed that the floor rearing system (FRS) improved growth performance, but the immune function of geese was promoted to some extent in the cage-rearing system (CRS). Moreover, we found the phenylalanine metabolism pathway could exert positive effects on the immune function of geese under CRS. These findings can provide a reliable reference for selecting a dryland rearing system in geese. Abstract Currently, FRS and CRS are the two predominant dryland rearing systems in the goose industry. However, the effects of these two systems on goose growth performance and health, as well as the underlying mechanisms, have not been fully clarified. Thus, this study aimed to compare growth performance and immune status, as well as investigate the genome-wide transcriptomic profiles of spleen in geese, between CRS and FRS at 270 d of age. Phenotypically, the body weight and body size traits were higher in geese under FRS, while the weight and organ index of spleen were higher in geese under CRS (p < 0.05). Noticeably, the bursa of Fabricius of geese under FRS was degenerated, while that under CRS was retained. At the serum level, the immune globulin-G (IgG) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were higher in geese under CRS (p < 0.05). At the transcriptomic level, we identified 251 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the spleen between CRS and FRS, which were mainly enriched in scavenger receptor activity, inflammatory response, immune response, neuroactive ligand–receptor interaction, phenylalanine metabolism, ECM receptor interaction, calcium signaling pathway, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis, regulation of actin cytoskeleton, and MAPK signaling pathways. Furthermore, through protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, ten candidate genes were identified, namely, VEGFA, FGF2, NGF, GPC1, NKX2-5, FGFR1, FGF1, MEIS1, CD36, and PAH. Further analysis demonstrated that geese in CRS could improve their immune ability through the “phenylalanine metabolism” pathway. Our results revealed that the FRS improved growth performance, whereas the CRS improved goose immune function by increasing levels of IL-6 and IgG in serum. Moreover, the phenylalanine metabolism pathway could exert positive effects on immune function of geese under CRS. These results can provide reliable references for understanding how floor and cage rearing systems affect goose growth performance and immune capacity.

Project description:Due to the demands for both environmental protection and modernization of the goose industry in China, the traditional goose waterside rearing systems have been gradually transitioning to the modern intensive dryland rearing ones, such as the net-floor mixed rearing system (MRS) and cage rearing system (CRS). However, the goose immune responses to different dryland rearing systems remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate and compare the age-dependent effects of MRS and CRS on the splenic histomorphological characteristics and immune-related genes expression profiles among three economically important goose breeds, including Sichuan White goose (SW), Gang goose (GE), and Landes goose (LD). Morphological analysis revealed that the splenic weight and organ index of SW were higher under CRS than under MRS (p < 0.05). Histological observations showed that for SW and LD, the splenic corpuscle diameter and area as well as trabecular artery diameter were larger under MRS than under CRS at 30 or 43 weeks of age (p < 0.05), while the splenic red pulp area of GE was larger under CRS than under MRS at 43 weeks of age (p < 0.05). Besides, at 43 weeks of age, higher mRNA expression levels of NGF, SPI1, and VEGFA in spleens of SW were observed under MRS than under CRS (p < 0.05), while higher levels of HSPA2 and NGF in spleens of LD were observed under MRS than under CRS (p < 0.05). For GE, there were higher mRNA expression levels of MYD88 in spleens under CRS at 30 weeks of age (p < 0.05). Moreover, our correlation analysis showed that there appeared to be more pronounced positive associations between the splenic histological parameters and expression levels of several key immune-related genes under MRS than under CRS. Therefore, it is speculated that the geese reared under MRS might exhibit enhanced immune functions than those under CRS, particularly for SW and LD. Although these phenotypic differences are assumed to be associated with the age-dependent differential expression profiles of HSPA2, MYD88, NGF, SPI1, and VEGFA in the goose spleen, the underlying regulatory mechanisms await further investigations.

Project description:The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary addition of capsaicin (CAP) on egg production performance, follicular development, and ovarian antioxidant capacity in laying ducks. Three hundred seventy eight 58-wk-old laying ducks were randomly divided into 3 treatments, each treatment consisted 6 replicates, with 12 individually caged laying ducks per replicate. Ducks fed a basal diet served as control, the other 2 groups of ducks were fed the same diet containing 150 mg/kg CAP but in the manner of feed restriction (pair-fed) or ad libitum fed. The experiment lasted for 8 wk. The results showed that the dietary supplementation with CAP under conditions of ad libitum feeding increased feed intake (P < 0.001) and tended (P < 0.1) to increase egg production and egg weight in laying ducks but had no effects on daily egg mass and feed conversion ratio. The relative weight of large yellow follicles from the 2 CAP-supplemented groups at 64 wk of age were significantly higher than that of the controls (P = 0.01). The relative weight of the small yellow follicles in the CAP free-fed group was significantly higher than that of the other 2 groups (P < 0.01). Capsaicin supplementation under ad libitum feding conditions tended to increase the number of dominant follicles in laying ducks (P = 0.06). The ovarian mRNA expression of genes related to calcium signaling (TRPV4, ATP2A2, ITPR1, and CaM) in the CAP ad libitum fed groups were significantly higher than those of the other 2 groups (P < 0.05). The ovarian mRNA expression of CDK1 in CAP free-fed ducks was significantly higher than that of the other 2 groups (P = 0.01). Capsaicin supplementation significantly increased the plasma glutathione peroxidase activity (P < 0.01) in comparison with the control group but reduced the malondialdehyde content in the ovaries of laying ducks (P < 0.01). The results of this study indicates that dietary supplementation of CAP increased feed intake and improved egg production performance probably by activating calcium signaling pathway and improving redox status.

Project description:This study investigated the effects of dietary selenium-enriched yeast (Se yeast) supplementation on the laying performance, egg quality, plasma antioxidant balance, and egg selenium (Se) content in laying Longyan ducks. A total of 480 32-week-old ducks were randomly divided into four dietary treatments, each consisting of six replicates of 20 ducks. The dietary treatments were a control basal diet and basal diets with supplementation of 0.05, 0.15, and 0.25 mg Se/kg via Se yeast. The analyzed Se contents of the four diets were 0.15, 0.21, 0.36, and 0.43 mg Se/kg, respectively. Dietary Se yeast supplementation had no apparent effects on laying performance and egg quality (p > 0.05), but it improved the antioxidant balance of ducks, as inferred by greater glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities, and decreased the malondialdehyde content in plasma of ducks (p < 0.05). It was suggested that the Se content in the basal diet containing 0.15 mg/kg of Se requirement is adequate for productive performance, but not for the antioxidant balance of laying ducks. Besides that, the Se contents in the yolk, albumen, and whole egg increased linearly as the Se supplementation levels increased. With more feeding days, the Se contents in the yolk and whole egg from non-Se-yeast-supplemented ducks increased linearly (p < 0.05), while those from Se-yeast-supplemented ducks showed a quadratic relationship (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the Se content of the basal diet at 0.15 mg/kg was adequate for laying performance and egg quality traits in laying ducks. Dietary Se yeast supplementation is beneficial to improve the antioxidant balance of laying ducks and increase the Se deposition in eggs for producing Se-enriched eggs. Based on the quadratic model or the quadratic broken-line model analyses, supplemental 0.19 mg Se/kg via Se yeast, with a total equivalent of 0.34 mg Se/kg in the diet, could provide the optimum antioxidant balance in laying ducks. Dietary supplementation of 0.25 mg Se/kg via Se yeast, with a total equivalent of 0.40 mg Se/kg in the diet, could lead to achieving the desired Se content in the whole egg.

Project description:BackgroundFloor eggs, which are defined as eggs that hens lay off-nest, are a major issue in cage-free layer poultry systems. They create additional work for farmers because they must be collected by hand. They are also usually soiled or broken, which results in economic losses. Nonetheless, knowledge about the genetics of nesting behavior is limited. The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for traits related to nest preference for laying and to time spent in the nests used for laying (laying duration).MethodsTwo pure lines of laying hens were studied: 927 Rhode Island Red and 980 White Leghorn. Electronic nests were used to record the nesting behavior of these hens in floor pens from 24 to 64 weeks of age. Nest preference was studied based on the mean distance between nests used for laying and the percentage of nests used for laying. Laying duration was studied based on mean laying duration, mean duration in the nest before laying, and mean duration in the nest after laying. Genetic parameters were estimated for each line using a restricted maximum-likelihood method applied to a pedigree-based multi-trait animal model.ResultsEstimates of genetic parameters were similar for the two lines. Estimates of heritability ranged from 0.18 to 0.37 for nest preference traits and from 0.54 to 0.70 for laying duration traits. Estimates of genetic correlations of these traits with clutch number or mean oviposition time were favorable. Positive genetic correlations were estimated between nest preference and laying rate in the nests or nest acceptance for laying (+ 0.06 to + 0.37).ConclusionsThese results show that genetics influences traits related to nest preference and laying duration. Selecting hens that have no preference for particular nests and spend little time laying in the nests could help optimize nest use, reduce their occupation rate, and thus decrease the incidence of floor eggs in cage-free systems. Genetic correlations of these traits with other traits of interest related to hen welfare and egg quality have yet to be estimated.

Dataset Information

Effects of cage and floor rearing system on the factors of antioxidant defense and inflammatory injury in laying ducks.

Publications

Effects of cage and floor rearing system on the factors of antioxidant defense and inflammatory injury in laying ducks.

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