Abstract
Phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) are critical for egg production in laying hens. Most of P in plant-based poultry diet is bound as phytic acid and needs to be hydrolysed before absorption. To increase P bioavailability, exogenous phytases or bioavailable rock phosphate is added in feed. There is growing evidence of the importance of miRNAs as the epicentre of intestinal homeostasis and functional properties. Therefore, we demonstrated the expression of miRNA profiles and the corresponding target genes due to the different levels of P (recommended vs. 20% reduction) and/or Ca (recommended vs. 15% reduction) in feed. Jejunal miRNA profiles of Lohmann Selected Leghorn (LSL) and Lohmann Brown (LB) laying hens strains were used (n = 80). A total of 34 and 76 miRNAs were differentially expressed (DE) in the different diet groups within LSL and LB strains respectively. In LSL, the DE miRNAs and their targets were involved in calcium signaling pathway, inositol phosphate metabolism, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Similarly, in LB miRNAs targets were enriched in metabolic pathways such as glutathione metabolism, phosphonate metabolism and vitamin B6 metabolism. Our results suggest that both strains employ different intrinsic strategies to cope with modulated P and Ca supply and maintain mineral homeostasis.
Highlights
Phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) are critical for egg production in laying hens
Size selection and quality filtering, reads with length of 18–33 nucleotides and a phred score > 20 were retained for mapping (Table S1). 523,291,583 out of 532,225,124 reads for Lohmann Selected Leghorn (LSL) strain and 454,205,567 out of 463,921,782 reads for Lohmann Brown (LB) strain were uniquely mapped to Gallus gallus reference genome (GRCg6a)
Calcium is highly abundant in the egg shell, but adequate amount of P is critical for proper utilization of Ca
Summary
Phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) are critical for egg production in laying hens. Most of P in plantbased poultry diet is bound as phytic acid and needs to be hydrolysed before absorption. Several factors affect the absorption and utilization of P and Ca in laying hens including impaired P to Ca ratio, their interaction with other nutrients, the genetic background, microbiota, and environmental conditions[13]. Both P and Ca are absorbed primarily in duodenum and jejunum[14,15], but the extent of absorption depends on their binding form in the feed. The expression of several genes, including the genes and molecular pathways involved in nutrients absorption in small intestine, is regulated by microRNAs. For instance, miR101, miR-1253, miR-1224-5p, miR-1226-55p and miR-623 play a pivotal role in regulation of growth of specific microbiota in gut intestine[26]
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