Abstract
Wooden or woody breast (WB) is a myopathy of the pectoralis major in fast-growing broilers that influences the quality of breast meat and causes an economic loss in the poultry industry. The objective of this study was to evaluate growth and proteome differences between 5 genetic strains of broilers that yield WB and normal breast (NB) meat. Eight-week-old broilers were evaluated for the WB myopathy and divided into NB and WB groups. Differential expression of proteins was analyzed using 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis and LC-MS/MS to elucidate the mechanism behind the breast myopathy because of the genetic backgrounds of the birds. The percentages of birds with WB were 61.3, 68.8, 46.9, 45.2, and 87.5% for strains 1-5, respectively, indicating variability in WB myopathy among broiler strains. Birds from strains 1, 3, and 5 in the WB group were heavier than those in the NB group (P < 0.05). Woody breast meat from all strains were heavier than NB meat (P < 0.05). Within WB, strain 5 had a greater breast yield than strains 1, 3, and 4 (P < 0.0001). Woody breast from strains 2, 3, 4, and 5 had a greater breast yield than NB (P < 0.05). Six proteins were more abundant in NB of strain 5 than those of strains 2, 3, and 4, and these proteins were related to muscle growth, regeneration, contraction, apoptosis, and oxidative stress. Within WB, 14 proteins were differentially expressed between strain 5 and other strains, suggesting high protein synthesis, weak structural integrity, intense contraction, and oxidative stress in strain 5 birds. The differences between WB from strain 3 and strains 1, 2, and 4 were mainly glycolytic. In conclusion, protein profiles of broiler breast differed because of both broiler genetics and the presence of WB myopathy.
Highlights
The increased demand for poultry meat since 2000 has been attributed to good nutritional value, low cost, and suitability for further processing (Petracci et al, 2015)
Birds of strain 3 were heavier than strain 5 in both normal breast (NB) and woody breast (WB) group, but the WB incidence of strain 3 was much lower than strain 5 (Table 1). These facts support the genetic basis of WB development and suggest that the body weight (BW) at harvest is not a primary determinant for WB myopathy for all genetic strains even though it is generally accepted that heavier birds tend to have WB within each strain
It was confirmed that the WB myopathy is closely related to increased breast weights
Summary
The increased demand for poultry meat since 2000 has been attributed to good nutritional value, low cost, and suitability for further processing (Petracci et al, 2015). This increased demand has contributed to the need for greater production efficiency. Breeders have focused on high growth rate and breast yield. Woody breast (WB) starts developing in broilers at as early as 2 wk of age. A chronic myodegradation may appear at 3 to 4 wk of age (Baltic et al, 2019). Various factors affect the development of WB, including the broiler’s genotype, gender, egg incubation condition, diet, and feeding
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