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Veterinary Pathology Mar 2024Pedigree analysis, clinical, gross, microscopic, ultrastructural, and lipidomic findings in 4 female superb bird-of-paradise (SBOP, ) siblings led to the diagnosis of a...
Pedigree analysis, clinical, gross, microscopic, ultrastructural, and lipidomic findings in 4 female superb bird-of-paradise (SBOP, ) siblings led to the diagnosis of a primary inherited glycerolipid storage disease. These birds were the offspring of a related breeding pair (inbreeding coefficient = 0.1797) and are the only known SBOPs to display this constellation of lesions. The birds ranged from 0.75 to 4.3 years of age at the time of death. Two birds were euthanized and 1 died naturally due to the disease, and 1 died of head trauma with no prior clinical signs. Macroscopic findings included hepatomegaly and pallor (4/4), cardiac and renal pallor (2/4), and coelomic effusion (1/4). Microscopic examination found marked tissue distortion due to cytoplasmic lipid vacuoles in hepatocytes (4/4), cardiomyocytes (4/4), renal tubular epithelial cells (4/4), parathyroid gland principal cells (2/2), exocrine pancreatic cells (3/3), and the glandular cells of the ventriculus and proventriculus (3/3). Ultrastructurally, the lipids were deposited in single to coalescing or fused droplets lined by an inconspicuous or discontinuous monolayer membrane. Lipidomic profiling found that the cytoplasmic lipid deposits were primarily composed of triacylglycerols. Future work, including sequencing of the SBOP genome and genotyping, will be required to definitively determine the underlying genetic mechanism of this disease.
Topics: Animals; Female; Humans; Pallor; Siblings; Stomach; Proventriculus; Lipids
PubMed: 37842940
DOI: 10.1177/03009858231203314 -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... Oct 2023This work aimed to evaluate the gene expression of amino acids (AA) and fatty acids (FA) sensors in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of chickens at two different ages (7...
This work aimed to evaluate the gene expression of amino acids (AA) and fatty acids (FA) sensors in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of chickens at two different ages (7 and 26 days post-hatch). Sixteen broilers (Ross 308) were selected, and ten sections of the GIT, including upper (tongue base, upper palate, crop, proventriculus), middle (gizzard, duodenum, jejunum, ileum), and lower GIT section (cecum, colon) were collected for analysis. Relative gene expression of AA (T1R1, T1R3, mGluR1, mGluR4, CaSR, GPR139, GPRC6A, GPR92) and FA (FFAR2, FFAR3, FFAR4) sensors were assessed using qPCR. The statistical model included age, GIT section, and gene. In addition, the correlations between gene expressions were calculated. At day 7, a significantly ( = 0.004) higher expression of AA sensors in the oral cavity and FA sensors in the lower GIT section (i.e., cecum and colon) compared to the middle section was recorded. A higher expression of AA compared to FA sensors was detected at the upper GIT section in 7 ( < 0.001) and 26-day-old chickens ( = 0.026). Thus, at day 7, AA sensors were predominantly ( < 0.05) expressed in the upper GIT section (mainly oral cavity), while FA sensors were mainly expressed in the lower GIT section, at cecum (FFR2 and 4) or colon (FFAR3). These results may indicate that in early life, both ends of the GIT are fundamental for feed intake (oral cavity) and development of the microbiota (cecum and colon). In contrast, at 26 days of age, the results showed the emergence of both AA and FA sensors in the jejunum, presumably indicating the essential role of the jejunum in the digestion absorption of nutrients and the signaling to the brain (gut-brain axis) through the enteroendocrine system. Significant positive correlations were observed between T1R1 and T1R3 (r = 0.85, < 0.001), CaSR and T1R1 (r = 0.78, < 0.001), CaSR and T1R3 (r = 0.45, < 0.050), and mGluR1 and FFAR3 (r = 0.46, < 0.050). It is concluded that the gene expression is greater in the oral cavity for AA sensors and the lower gut for FA sensors. On day 26, the role of jejunum regarding nutrient sensing is highlighted.
PubMed: 37835726
DOI: 10.3390/ani13193120 -
British Poultry Science Dec 20231. Phytic acid (PA) is an antinutritional factor in poultry diets. The effect of high dietary PA in chicken diets might be exacerbated when the particle size of oyster...
1. Phytic acid (PA) is an antinutritional factor in poultry diets. The effect of high dietary PA in chicken diets might be exacerbated when the particle size of oyster shell (OS) is too fine. Thus, this study investigated the hypothesis that high PA with fine OS particle size would impair growth in broilers.2. Two hundred and eighty Cobb 500 broilers were assigned to four diets in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement in a CRD. The factors were PA (low or high) and OS particle size (fine or coarse) in starter, grower and finisher diets. Data collected were performance, Ca digestibility, gastrointestinal pH and bone traits.3. On d 21, high PA increased intake ( < 0.05), gain ( = 0.099) and body weight (BW; = 0.093) compared to low PA. On d 42, high PA increased BW ( = 0.086) and gain ( = 0.089) compared to low PA. High PA increased intake ( = 0.063), BW ( = 0.054) and gain ( = 0.056) compared to low PA on d 56. High PA improved liveability on d 56 ( < 0.05) compared to low PA. In birds fed coarse OS, crop and ileal pH were reduced ( < 0.05) by high PA on d 28. The OS × PA interaction was observed for ileal pH ( < 0.05) on d 56, where in birds fed coarse OS, low PA increased ileal pH. Fine OS increased crop ( = 0.056) and proventriculus pH ( < 0.05) on d 56. There were no treatment effects on calcium digestibility. In birds fed fine OS, high PA decreased the BS ( < 0.05).4. Overall, the study showed that a combination of high PA and coarse OS particle size improves the production performance of broilers, while low PA and coarse OS improve their bone health.
Topics: Animals; Chickens; Calcium; Phytic Acid; Particle Size; Digestion; Animal Feed; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Calcium Carbonate; Calcium, Dietary; Diet; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Ostreidae
PubMed: 37747291
DOI: 10.1080/00071668.2023.2262401 -
Poultry Science Nov 2023The recently detected clade 2.3.4.4 of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8 virus in poultry encouraged us to study the efficacy of the 6 most extensively...
The recently detected clade 2.3.4.4 of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8 virus in poultry encouraged us to study the efficacy of the 6 most extensively used saleable H5 poultry vaccinations (bivalent [AI + ND], Re-5 H5N1, H5N1, H5N3, monovalent AI, monovalent ND) with or without aqueous 8% neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf extract as an immunostimulant. One hundred thirty birds were randomly divided into 7 groups. Groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 were divided into 2 subgroups (G1a, G2a, G3a, G4a, G5a, G6a) and (G1b, G2b, G3b, G4b, G5b, G6b) with 10 birds each. Subgroups (G1a, G2a, G3a, G4a, G5a, G6a) received the (bivalent [AI + ND], Re-H5N1, H5N1, H5N3, monovalent AI, monovalent ND) vaccines, while subgroups (G1b, G2b, G3b, G4b, G5b, G6b) received the same previous vaccination but treated with neem leaf extract administrated 2 d before and after vaccination, and G7 with 10 birds was kept unvaccinated as positive control group. Clinical signs of the challenged group showed conjunctivitis, closed eyes, cyanosis in comb and wattle, ocular discharge, and greenish diarrhea, while postmortem lesions showed congested trachea and lung, hemorrhage on the shank, proventriculus, and pancreas; gelatinous fluid submandibular, congestion of all organs (septicemia), mottled spleen. The clinical signs and lesions were mild in neem leaf extract treated with bivalent vaccine and Re-H5N1 while moderate in monovalent vaccine and H5N3 with or without neem leaf extract treated and reached severe in the group immunized with H5N1 with or without neem leaf extract treatment. The protection levels in the bivalent vaccine (AI + ND), Re-5 H5N1, and H5N3 treated with neem leaf extract, were 80%, 80%, and 60%, respectively, while bivalent vaccine (AI + ND), Re-5 H5N1 and H5N3 without treatment were 60%, 60%, and 40%, respectively. The virus shedding was prevented in groups vaccinated with bivalent vaccine and Re-H5N1 vaccine treated with neem leaf extract, while decreased in the group vaccinated with H5N3 with neem leaf extract and Re-H5N1 without neem leaf extract compared with H5N3, H5N1, and monovalent vaccine. The immunological response after vaccination was stronger in the bivalent vaccine group than in the other commercial vaccine groups treated with neem leaf extract, with geometric mean titer (GMTs) of 315.2 and 207.9 at the third and fourth weeks, respectively. The use of immunostimulant antiviral medicinal plants, such as neem, completely protected chicken flocks against HPAI (H5N8) and prevented AI virus shedding, leading us to the conclusion that the use of bivalent vaccines induces a higher immune response than other different commercial vaccines.
PubMed: 37741118
DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2023.103043 -
European Journal of Immunology Dec 2023The availability of genetically modified mice has facilitated the study of mammalian T cells. No model has yet been developed to study these cells in chickens, an...
The availability of genetically modified mice has facilitated the study of mammalian T cells. No model has yet been developed to study these cells in chickens, an important livestock species with a high availability of γδ T cells. To investigate the role of γδ and αβ T cell populations in birds, we generated chickens lacking these T cell populations. This was achieved by genomic deletion of the constant region of the T cell receptor γ or β chain, leading to a complete loss of either γδ or αβ T cells. Our results show that a deletion of αβ T cells but not γδ T cells resulted in a severe phenotype in KO chickens. The αβ T cell KO chickens exhibited granulomas associated with inflammation of the spleen and the proventriculus. Immunophenotyping of αβ T cell KO chickens revealed a significant increase in monocytes and expectedly the absence of CD4 T cells including FoxP3 regulatory T cells. Surprisingly there was no increase of γδ T cells. In addition, we observed a significant decrease in immunoglobulins, B lymphocytes, and changes in the bursa morphology. Our data reveal the consequences of T cell knockouts in chickens and provide new insights into their function in vertebrates.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Chickens; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta; Phenotype; B-Lymphocytes; Mammals
PubMed: 37735713
DOI: 10.1002/eji.202350503 -
Polish Journal of Veterinary Sciences Sep 2023This study aimed to evaluate the impact of betaine (Bet) and protected calcium butyrate (PCB) supplementation individually and together on the performance, carcass...
Effects of dietary betaine and protected calcium butyrate supplementation on growth performance, blood biochemical status, and meat quality in growing Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix Japonica).
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of betaine (Bet) and protected calcium butyrate (PCB) supplementation individually and together on the performance, carcass traits, blood biochemistry, and meat quality of growing Japanese quails ( Coturnix coturnix Japonica) from 1 to 42 days old. 144 one-day-old unsexed Japanese quails were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments with six replicates each. All birds were fed a maize-soybean meal diet for 42 days. The control group received no feed additives, while the treatment groups received 1.2 g/kg Bet, 1.0 g/kg PCB, or a combination of both in their diets. The results indicated that Bet and PCB supplementation individually and together did not differ performance, relative weights of heart, gizzard, proventriculus, bursa of Fabricius and pancreas, water holding capacity (WHC), cooking loss (CL), blood biochemical values except for glucose and triglyceride. Bet supplementation significantly increased relative liver weights, while PCB supplementation decreased glucose levels in serum. Moreover, carcass yield was increased and triglyceride value in blood serum, malondialdehyde (MDA), and the pH levels of breast meats both on the 1st and 30st day of post-mortem were decreased in all treatment groups. Therefore, based on these results, the combination of betaine and butyrate improves both carcass yield and meat quality in growing Japanese quails. More research is needed to determine the impact of betaine and butyrate on the structure of amino acids in meat, antioxidant enzyme activity, and the immune system in poultry.
Topics: Animals; Coturnix; Betaine; Calcium; Butyrates; Diet; Meat; Antioxidants; Dietary Supplements
PubMed: 37727053
DOI: 10.24425/pjvs.2023.145043 -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... Aug 2023This study aims to report the clinical signs, therapeutic strategy, necropsy results, and histopathological findings of airsacculitis caused by enterobacteria and the...
This study aims to report the clinical signs, therapeutic strategy, necropsy results, and histopathological findings of airsacculitis caused by enterobacteria and the occurrence of eggs from the superfamily Diplotriaenoidea in the feces of in the Amazon biome. A tropical screech owl nestling was rescued and admitted for hand-rearing. The animal was kept hospitalized for five months. It was fed a diet based on larvae and thawed chicken breast meat with vitamin and mineral supplements. On the 37th day of hacking training for release, the owl showed weakness, lack of appetite, regurgitation, cachexia, dyspnea, ruffled feathers, dry droppings in the vent and pericloaca, and diarrhea. The parasitological examination showed eggs of the Diplotriaenoidea superfamily in the feces. The therapy employed included oxytetracycline, sulfamethoxazole, mebendazole, Potenay, sodium chloride 0.9%, and Mercepton. However, five days after starting the treatment, the bird died. Upon necropsy, prominence of the keel, pieces of undigested food in the oral cavity and proventriculus, intestinal gas, and thickened and turbid air sacs were found. The microbiological analysis of air sacs identified , , and . Histopathological examination showed heterophilic bacterial airsacculitis.
PubMed: 37685014
DOI: 10.3390/ani13172750 -
Poultry Science Oct 2023Exhaustive understanding of intestinal physiological characteristics is the critical precondition for the improvement of intestinal health and growth performance of...
Exhaustive understanding of intestinal physiological characteristics is the critical precondition for the improvement of intestinal health and growth performance of yellow-feather broilers (YFB). As a vital part of gastrointestinal tract, the symbiotic, complex, and variable microbiota have a profound effect on the nutrition, immunity, health, and production of broilers. Hence, the development status of proventriculus, jejunum, and cecum, and spatial heterogeneity of bacterial community in crop, proventriculus, gizzard, jejunum, cecum, and rectum of adult YFB were detected in our study. The results revealed that proventriculus, jejunum, and cecum of broilers are well-developed based on morphological observation. The Chao and Shannon indexes in cecum and rectum are notably higher than other sections and their microbiota structure is also distinct from foregut. Firmicutes and Lactobacillus are the predominant phylum and genus in all gastrointestinal sections, respectively. As feature species of crop, Lactobacillus spp. mainly settle in foregut, whereas some Clostridia species (unclassified Lachnospiraceae, Faecalibacterium, Romboutsia and so on) are characteristic and more abundant in cecum and rectum. Interestingly, there are 2 Ruminococcus torques strains positively and negatively correlated with cecum development, respectively. In a whole, our findings reveal the specialized digestive physiology and regional distribution of intestinal microbiota in YFB, which provides a reference for the future study on the improvement of growth performance and intestinal development through microbiota manipulation in yellow-feather broilers.
Topics: Animals; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Chickens; Feathers; Gastrointestinal Tract; Cecum; Lactobacillus; Animal Feed; Diet
PubMed: 37579647
DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2023.102844 -
Poultry Science Oct 2023Dietary fibres with increased particle size may develop foregut more efficiently in meat poultry fed diets moderately low in crude protein. The study investigated the...
Dietary fibres with increased particle size may develop foregut more efficiently in meat poultry fed diets moderately low in crude protein. The study investigated the performance of broilers fed low-density crude protein diets with the inclusion of oat hulls increasing in particle size. Ross 308 male broiler chicks (n = 336) were divided into 48 pens, 12 pens per treatment (7 chicks per pen). Pens were allocated to 4 dietary treatments in mash form; positive control (PC), a standard crude protein diet, negative control (NC), around 5% lower in protein with 5% celite as an inert material, OH400: 5% lower protein diet with 5% oat hulls of geometric mean diameter (GMD) 400 µm, OH850: 5% lower protein diet with 5% oat hulls of GMD 850µm. Birds were fed ad libitum from d 1 to 35 in 3 phases; starter: d 0 to 10, grower: d 10 to 24 and finisher: d 24 to 35. Growth performance was calculated at the end of the trial. Two birds per pen were sampled on d 24 and 35 to collect data on proventriculus and gizzard weights and pooled ileal digesta. Apparent ileal digestibility of amino acids on d 24, and metabolizable energy on d 24 and 35 were recorded for each pen. Litter was sampled from each pen on d 34 to analyze litter N and moisture content. Footpad dermatitis scores of all birds per pen were recorded on d 35. Overall, no difference (P > 0.05) in body weight gain and feed intake was found between the treatments. However, NC and OH400 showed poorer FCR than PC, whereas FCR on PC and OH850 was similar (P > 0.05). Gizzard absolute weight and relative to body weight, and gizzard to proventriculus ratio were higher (P < 0.05) on OH850 compared to PC and NC on d 24 and 35. Gizzard digesta particle size was reduced (P < 0.05) on OH850 compared to all other diets on d 24 and 35. Amino acids digestibility coefficients for aspartic acid and valine increased (P < 0.05) in birds fed OH850 compared to PC, whereas coefficients for several other amino acids were improved compared to NC and OH400. The apparent ileal digestibility of metabolizable energy was similar (P > 0.05) between PC and OH850. Litter moisture and nitrogen, and footpad dermatitis scores were reduced (P < 0.05) on OH850 compared to PC. In conclusion, the inclusion of coarse oat hulls of GMD 850 µm in low-density crude protein diets can be beneficial for the broilers in developing the foregut, utilizing the nutrients efficiently and reducing litter nitrogen and moisture, and footpad scores.
Topics: Animals; Male; Amines; Amino Acids; Animal Feed; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Avena; Body Weight; Chickens; Dermatitis; Diet; Diet, Protein-Restricted; Dietary Supplements; Digestion; Nitrogen; Particle Size
PubMed: 37562128
DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2023.102979 -
Avian Diseases Jun 2023The carcass of a 4-mo-old, female, mixed-breed backyard chicken was submitted for postmortem evaluation and diagnostic workup. The bird was previously presented to a...
The carcass of a 4-mo-old, female, mixed-breed backyard chicken was submitted for postmortem evaluation and diagnostic workup. The bird was previously presented to a veterinary clinic because of chronic weight loss and loose stool, and was euthanized before submission to the California Animal Health and Food Safety, Turlock lab. On gross examination, the proventriculus, gizzard, and duodenum were markedly distended and impacted with a mixture of fibrous plant material, cereal grain, and litter material. The koilin layer of the gizzard was eroded. There were multifocal to coalescing, 0.2-1-cm diameter white nodules on the serosal surface of the duodenal loop and lesions extended into the distal jejunum. The duodenum had multifocal, transmural, umbilicated, and ulcerated mucosal lesions, which were covered with a white pseudomembrane. Microscopically, there was segmental, transmural necrosis of the intestinal wall with diffuse sloughing of villi epithelium and accumulation of fibrino-hemorrhagic exudate with numerous bacterial colonies in the lumen. The gross and microscopic findings were indicative of gastrointestinal impaction and necrotic enteritis. Proliferation of within the intestine was demonstrated by anaerobic bacterial culture, intestinal gram stains, and immunohistochemistry. The isolate was type F (encoding the gene for alpha toxin - and for enterotoxin -) by PCR toxinotyping. Overgrowth of was likely exacerbated by the rough fibrous forage and highly fermentable grain diet. To our knowledge, gastrointestinal impaction concurrent with necrotic enteritis has not been described in backyard chickens. In addition, to our knowledge, type F has not been associated with necrotic enteritis in chickens.
Topics: Animals; Clostridium Infections; Chickens; Enteritis; Poultry Diseases; Clostridium perfringens; Necrosis
PubMed: 37556299
DOI: 10.1637/aviandiseases-D-23-00006