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Poultry Science Sep 2012Artificial selection in closed populations can fix or differentiate alternative alleles of loci associated with selected traits. Two closed chicken populations, A and B,...
Artificial selection in closed populations can fix or differentiate alternative alleles of loci associated with selected traits. Two closed chicken populations, A and B, originating from Jiuwu, a Chinese native breed, were bred for more than 10 generations. We compared progeny from reciprocal crosses (AB and BA) under free range (trial 1) and cage and pen (trial 2) systems. Traits measured included feed conversion, live BW, subcutaneous fat thickness, percentages of carcass, semi-eviscerated carcass, eviscerated carcass, breast muscle (pectoralis major and minor), leg muscle (boneless drum and thigh), heart, gizzard, proventriculus, liver, comb, and abdominal fat, plus moisture and fat content in breast muscle at 91 d. In trial 1, there were no significant differences between crosses for any trait except percentage proventriculus (AB > BA). Males were significantly heavier with greater proportions of semi-eviscerated carcass, leg muscle, heart, and comb than females, whereas females had thicker subcutaneous fat and higher percentage abdominal fat, breast muscle, gizzard, and proventriculus than males. In trial 2, chickens raised in cages were significantly heavier, had superior feed efficiency, thicker subcutaneous fat, higher fat content and percentage abdominal fat, carcass, semi-eviscerated carcass, liver, and comb than those reared in pens. Those reared in pens exhibited significantly greater proportions of breast muscle, gizzard, and proventriculus than those raised in cages. The only significant 2-way interaction was cross × sex for percentage semi-eviscerated and eviscerated carcass, because BA males were greater than other combinations. Interactions of cross × sex × housing system for percentage liver and abdominal fat were significant; cage-reared AB females displayed higher percentages than pen-reared BA males. Results implied that subpopulations should be considered rather than a single larger population as a way to reduce loss of genetic variation in local and heritage stocks. Although performance of reciprocal crosses was similar across housing systems, caging during the finishing stage of a slow-growing breed enhanced feed efficiency, BW, and meat composition.
Topics: Animals; Body Composition; Body Weight; Chickens; Female; Housing, Animal; Hybridization, Genetic; Male; Sex Characteristics
PubMed: 22912481
DOI: 10.3382/ps.2012-02165 -
The Journal of Poultry Science Oct 2016The aim of this study was to determine whether probiotic-feeding affected the expression of cathelicidins (), a major family of antimicrobial peptides, in response to...
The aim of this study was to determine whether probiotic-feeding affected the expression of cathelicidins (), a major family of antimicrobial peptides, in response to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) challenge in the proventriculus and cecum of broiler chicks. One-day-old male Chunky broiler chicks were fed with or without 0.4% probiotics for 7 days (P-group and non-P-group, respectively). Then, they were orally challenged with no LPS (0-LPS), 1 g LPS (1-LPS), or 100 g LPS (100-LPS) (=5 in all groups) in Experiment 1, and with no LPS or 1 g LPS (=6 in all groups) in Experiment 2. Five hours after LPS challenge, the proventriculi and ceca were collected to analyze expression. Expression of was examined at first by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using the 0-LPS chicks of non-P-group. The differences in expression upon probiotics-feeding and LPS were analyzed by real time-PCR. All four ( and ) were expressed in the proventriculus and cecum of chicks. In the proventriculus, the expression of after LPS challenge did not show significant differences between non-P and P-groups in Experiment 1 and 2. In the cecum, the interactions of the effects of probiotics and LPS on the expression of in Experiment 1 and and in Experiment 2 were significant, and their expression in 1-LPS chicks was higher in P-group than in non-P-group. However, and did not show any significant differences between non-P- and P-groups challenged with LPS. These results suggest that probiotics-feeding may stimulate the immunodefense system mediated by and possibly against infection by Gram-negative bacteria in the cecum.
PubMed: 32908397
DOI: 10.2141/jpsa.0160064 -
Veterinary Research Forum : An... 2020The black proventriculus is a necropsy finding sign observed during post-mortem examinations of dead young chicks up to 10 days of age and due to variation in color of...
The black proventriculus is a necropsy finding sign observed during post-mortem examinations of dead young chicks up to 10 days of age and due to variation in color of the affected proventriculus organ, it may be ignored in some cases, in particular when the disease occurs simultaneously with other well-recognized infections of two weeks old chicks. In late January 2018, several live and dead chicks with a history of an unusual increase in mortality showing no clinical signs but sudden dead were referred to the poultry clinic of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran. General routine postmortem examination revealed color changes (light green to dark green color) in the wall of proventriculus together with some degrees of congestion in the lungs and liver of the dead chicks. Microbiology tests revealed that the causative agent was strain O142 and histopathological examination indicated that the color changing of the organ was due to necrosis of glandular epithelium with locally extensive or diffuse hypercellularity by lymphocytes and macrophages with hemorrhages. In conclusion, black proventriculus due to strain O142 was responsible for the sudden death of young chicks and based on antibiogram, selective antibiotics should be used for the treatment of the affected flocks.
PubMed: 33643598
DOI: 10.30466/vrf.2020.119777.2830 -
BMC Zoology Dec 2022Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus, 1758) is a wild aquatic omnivorous bird characterized by a marked resistance to harsh environmental conditions and a worldwide...
BACKGROUND
Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus, 1758) is a wild aquatic omnivorous bird characterized by a marked resistance to harsh environmental conditions and a worldwide distribution. In this study, anatomical, morphometrical, histochemical, and immunohistochemical techniques were employed to study the structure of the gastrointestinal tract of Gallinula chloropus.
RESULTS
The esophagus appeared tubular with no distinct crop. Both superficial (SPG) and deep (DPG) proventricular glands were present. The DPG filled about two-thirds of the total wall thickness. Histochemically, the mucosubstances revealed mixed alcian blue-PAS positive reactions. They were mainly localized in the acini of the esophageal glands and SPG, gastric surface epithelium, duct system of DPG, and intestinal goblet cells. The highest number of goblet cells per every 1 mm of the intestinal mucosa was seen within the ileum and rectum, 2555 ± 468 and 2607 ± 653 respectively. Notably, glucagon immunoreactive (IR) cells were abundant in the mucosa of the small and large intestines and the proventriculus, while somatostatin IR cells were concentrated within the acini of the DPG. IR cells for the mitosis marker phospho-histone H3 (PHH3) were highest within the entire intestinal crypts and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues (MALT). In contrast, cells IR for the apoptosis marker C.CASP3 were remarkable in epithelial cells at the tips of intestinal villi and in MALT, reflecting the dynamic nature of the latter mentioned structures.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings of the present study advance our knowledge of the gross and microscopic anatomy of the gastrointestinal tract in wild birds and could help to enhance the productivity of Aves via improving gut health.
PubMed: 37170387
DOI: 10.1186/s40850-022-00161-6 -
Infection, Genetics and Evolution :... Dec 2021Tabanids (syn. horse flies) are biting-flies of medical and veterinary significance because of their ability to transmit a range of pathogens including trypanosomes -...
Tabanids (syn. horse flies) are biting-flies of medical and veterinary significance because of their ability to transmit a range of pathogens including trypanosomes - some species of which carry a combined health and biosecurity risk. Invertebrate vectors responsible for transmitting species of Trypanosoma between Australian wildlife remains unknown, thus establishing the role of potential vector candidates such as tabanids is of utmost importance. The current study aimed to investigate the presence of indigenous trypanosomes in tabanids from an endemic area of south-west Australia. A total of 148 tabanids were collected, with morphological analysis revealing two subgenera: Scaptia (Pseudoscione) and S. (Scaptia) among collected flies. A parasitological survey using an HRM-qPCR and sequencing approach revealed a high (105/148; 71%) prevalence of trypanosomatid DNA within collected tabanids. Individual tissues - proboscis (labrum, labium and mandibles, hypopharynx), salivary glands, proventriculus, midgut, and hindgut and rectum - were also tested from a subset of 20 tabanids (n = 140 tissues), confirming the presence of Trypanosoma noyesi in 31% of screened tissues, accompanied by T. copemani (3%) and T. vegrandis/T.gilletti (5%). An unconfirmed trypanosomatid sp. was also detected (9%) within tissues. The difference between tissues infected with T. noyesi compared with tissues infected with other trypanosome species was statistically significant (p < 0.05), revealing T. noyesi as the more frequent species detected in the tabanids examined. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed intact parasites within salivary glands and the proboscis respectively, suggesting that both biological and mechanical modes of transmission could occur. This study reveals the presence of Australian Trypanosoma across tabanid tissues and confirms intact parasites within tabanid salivary glands and the proboscis for the first time. Further investigations are required to determine whether tabanids have the vectorial competence to transmit Australian trypanosomes between wildlife.
Topics: Animals; Animals, Wild; Biosecurity; Diptera; Insect Vectors; Trypanosoma; Trypanosomiasis; Western Australia
PubMed: 34823027
DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2021.105152 -
Frontiers in Physiology 2020The gastrointestinal tract in metazoans consists of diverse epithelial cells with distinct cell morphology and physiological functions. The development and homeostasis...
The gastrointestinal tract in metazoans consists of diverse epithelial cells with distinct cell morphology and physiological functions. The development and homeostasis of gastrointestinal epithelia involve spatiotemporal regulation by many signaling pathways, essential to confer their region-specific function and identity. The adult midgut and the mammalian intestine share a high degree of conservation between such signaling pathways. Due to availability of sophisticated techniques for genetic manipulation, is an excellent model to study mechanisms of tissue homeostasis regulation in a regionally defined manner. The gastric region located in the middle-midgut coincides with the region containing fewest number of stem cells. It is also known as the copper cell (CC) region since it is composed of specialized groups of acid-secreting CCs, along with interstitial cells and enteroendocrine cells. The generation and maintenance of these cell populations are determined by the bone morphogenic protein-like Decapentaplegic (Dpp) signaling pathway. The morphogenic gradient of the Dpp signaling activity induces differential expression of specific transcription factors () and (, which are required for the generation of various cell types specific to this region. In this study, we investigated the role of Dve in regulation of tissue homeostasis in the CC region. Our studies reveal that ectopic expression of in stem cells suppresses their self-renewal throughout the intestine. We further demonstrate that Dve is not required for generation of CCs. Higher levels of Dve can alter cell specification by inhibition of expression, which in turn prevents CC formation during homeostasis.
PubMed: 32760283
DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00711 -
Royal Society Open Science Jan 2020The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) consists of connected structures that vary in function and physiology, and different GIT sections potentially provide different habitats...
The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) consists of connected structures that vary in function and physiology, and different GIT sections potentially provide different habitats for microorganisms. Birds possess unique GIT structures, including the oesophagus, proventriculus, gizzard, small intestine, caeca and large intestine. To understand birds as hosts of microbial ecosystems, we characterized the microbial communities in six sections of the GIT of two shorebird species, the Dunlin and Semipalmated Sandpiper, identified potential host species effects on the GIT microbiome and used microbial source tracking to determine microbial origin throughout the GIT. The upper three GIT sections had higher alpha diversity and genus richness compared to the lower sections, and microbial communities in the upper GIT showed no clustering. The proventriculus and gizzard microbiomes primarily originated from upstream sections, while the majority of the large intestine microbiome originated from the caeca. The heterogeneity of the GIT sections shown in our study urges caution in equating data from faeces or a single GIT component to the entire GIT microbiome but confirms that ecologically similar species may share many attributes in GIT microbiomes.
PubMed: 32218980
DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191609 -
Applied and Environmental Microbiology Apr 2023Yersinia pestis (the agent of flea-borne plague) must obstruct the flea's proventriculus to maintain transmission to a mammalian host. To this end, Y. pestis must...
Yersinia pestis (the agent of flea-borne plague) must obstruct the flea's proventriculus to maintain transmission to a mammalian host. To this end, Y. pestis must consolidate a mass that entrapped Y. pestis within the proventriculus very early after its ingestion. We developed a semiautomated fluorescent image analysis method and used it to monitor and compare colonization of the flea proventriculus by a fully competent flea-blocking Y. pestis strain, a partially competent strain, and a noncompetent strain. Our data suggested that flea blockage results primarily from the replication of Y. pestis trapped in the anterior half of the proventriculus. However, consolidation of the bacteria-entrapping mass and colonization of the entire proventricular lumen increased the likelihood of flea blockage. The data also showed that consolidation of the bacterial mass is not a prerequisite for colonization of the proventriculus but allowed Y. pestis to maintain itself in a large flea population for an extended period of time. Taken as the whole, the data suggest that a strategy targeting bacterial mass consolidation could significantly reduce the likelihood of Y. pestis being transmitted by fleas (due to gut blockage), but also the possibility of using fleas as a long-term reservoir. Yersinia pestis (the causative agent of plague) is one of the deadliest bacterial pathogens. It circulates primarily among rodent populations and their fleas. Better knowledge of the mechanisms leading to the flea-borne transmission of Y. pestis is likely to generate strategies for controlling or even eradicating this bacillus. It is known that Y. pestis obstructs the flea's foregut so that the insect starves, frantically bites its mammalian host, and regurgitates Y. pestis at the bite site. Here, we developed a semiautomated fluorescent image analysis method and used it to document and compare foregut colonization and disease progression in fleas infected with a fully competent flea-blocking Y. pestis strain, a partially competent strain, and a noncompetent strain. Overall, our data provided new insights into Y. pestis' obstruction of the proventriculus for transmission but also the ecology of plague.
Topics: Animals; Siphonaptera; Yersinia pestis; Plague; Proventriculus; Microscopy; Insect Vectors; Mammals
PubMed: 36939324
DOI: 10.1128/aem.02091-22 -
Animal : An International Journal of... Aug 2022Heat stress (HS) dramatically impairs the growth performance of broiler chickens, mainly as a consequence of reduced feed intake due to the loss of appetite. This study...
Heat stress (HS) dramatically impairs the growth performance of broiler chickens, mainly as a consequence of reduced feed intake due to the loss of appetite. This study was aimed at evaluating the alterations induced by chronic HS conditions on the morphological and morphometric features of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and on the expression of some enteroendocrine cells (EECs) involved in the regulation of feed intake in chickens. Three hundred male chickens (Ross 308) were divided into two experimental groups and raised either in thermoneutral environment for the whole fattening period (0-41 days) (TNT group) or subjected to chronic HS conditions (30 °C for 24 h/day) from 35 to 41 days (HS group). Samples of proventriculus, duodenum, jejunum and cecum were collected from 24 broilers (12/group). Haematoxylin-eosin was used for the morphometric evaluations, while immunohistochemistry was applied for the evaluation of EECs expressing ghrelin (GHR), cholecystokinin (CCK), neuropeptide Y (NPY), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and serotonin (5-HT). In the proventriculus, HS reduced total wall thickness and mucous layer height (P ≤ 0.01) as well as mean diameter, circumference, and area of the compound tubular glands (P ≤ 0.001) with respect to TNT. The small intestine of HS birds was characterised by decreased villous height and total thickness (duodenum, P ≤ 0.01; jejunum, P ≤ 0.001), whereas crypt depth and width were reduced only in the jejunum (P ≤ 0.01). HS had negligible effects on the morphological aspects of the cecum. In the proventriculus, an increase in GHR and NPY EECs was observed in response to HS (P ≤ 0.001). Similarly, the small intestine villi of the HS group showed greater GLP-1 (P ≤ 0.05), 5-HT (P ≤ 0.001) and CCK (P ≤ 0.01) EECs. Moreover, the expression of 5-HT EECs was higher in the duodenal (P ≤ 0.01) and jejunal (P ≤ 0.01) crypts of HS birds, whereas GLP-1 and CCK EECs increased only in jejunal crypts (P ≤ 0.05). Finally, 5-HT EEC expression was increased in the cecum of HS group (P ≤ 0.01). In conclusion, these outcomes demonstrate that chronic HS induces morphometric alterations not only in the small intestine but also in a key organ such as the proventriculus. Furthermore, HS conditions affect the presence and distribution of EECs, suggesting that some GI peptides and biogenic amine may be implicated in the regulation of appetite and voluntary feed intake in heat-stressed broiler chickens.
Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Chickens; Cholecystokinin; Eating; Glucagon-Like Peptide 1; Heat Stress Disorders; Heat-Shock Response; Hot Temperature; Male; Serotonin
PubMed: 35907384
DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2022.100600 -
Open Veterinary Journal Apr 2023Newcastle disease is very pathogenic in chickens, whereas in ducks, the disease does not show any clinical symptoms.
BACKGROUND
Newcastle disease is very pathogenic in chickens, whereas in ducks, the disease does not show any clinical symptoms.
AIMS
To compare the clinical symptoms features, pathological lesions, viral distribution, and apoptosis response caused by the Newcastle disease virus (NDV) in domestic chicken and Alabio duck.
METHODS
Forty domestic chickens and 40 Alabio ducks were separated into four groups: domestic chicken and Alabio duck treatment groups, where each was infected by NDV velogenic ducks/Aceh Besar_IND/2013/eoAC080721 in 10ELD dosage. The domestic chicken and Alabio duck control groups were each inoculated with Phosphate Buffer Saline. The infection route was intraorbital, 0.1 ml in volume. Symptoms were observed from day 1 until day 7 post-infection (PI). Necropsy was performed on days 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 PI for organ collection.
RESULTS
Symptoms observed were disorders in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems, followed by 100% mortality in domestic chickens. In Alabio ducks, there were only depression and slight lethargy. The lesion in domestic chicken day 1 appeared by the lungs, thymus, Fabricius bursa, spleen, and kidney. On day 3 PI, lesions were also found in the heart, proventriculus, duodenum, and cecal tonsil. On days 5 and 7 PI, the trachea and brain lesions were found. In Alabio ducks, lesions were found in the lungs, thymus, spleen, and proventriculus on day 1. Afterward, on day 3, light lesions were found in the heart. On day 5, lesions were found in the trachea and brain; finally, on day 7, light lesions were only found in the thymus, spleen, and brain. Immunopositive reaction NDV in domestic chicken was highest in the proventriculus, duodenum, cecal tonsil, and lymphoreticular organs. In the Alabio duck, it was highest in the duodenum and cecal tonsil. The caspase-3 percentage in domestic chicken increased on day 3 PI; in Alabio ducks, on day 2 PI.
CONCLUSION
Clinical symptoms and pathological lesions were faster and more severe in domestic chickens. The immunopositive reaction NDV in domestic chicken continued to increase, while in Alabio ducks, it decreased until the last observation day. Apoptosis percentage increased earlier in the Alabio duck than in domestic chicken.
Topics: Animals; Newcastle Disease; Ducks; Chickens; Immunohistochemistry; Borneo; Newcastle disease virus
PubMed: 37251268
DOI: 10.5455/OVJ.2023.v13.i4.5