Digestion dynamics in broilers fed rapeseed meal

E Recoules,L Combes-Soia,L Lardic,S Réhault-Godbert,V Labas,A Narcy,C Peyronnet,M Lessire,A Quinsac,M J Duclos

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-38725-1

Abstract

Rapeseed proteins are described to be poorly digestible in chickens. To further identify some molecular locks that may limit their use in poultry nutrition, we conducted a proteomic study on the various chicken digestive contents and proposed an integrative view of the proteins recruited in the crop, proventriculus/gizzard, duodenum, jejunum, and ileum for digestion of rapeseed by-products. Twenty-seven distinct rapeseed proteins were identified in the hydrosoluble fraction of the feed prior ingestion. The number of rapeseed proteins identified in digestive contents decreases throughout the digestion process while some are progressively solubilized in the most distal digestive segment, likely due to a combined effect of pH and activity of specific hydrolytic enzymes. Fifteen chicken proteins were identified in the hydrosoluble proventriculus/gizzard content, including chymotrypsin-like elastase and pepsin. Interestingly, on the 69 distinct proteins identified in duodenum, only 9 were proteolytic enzymes, whereas the others were associated with homeostasis, and carbohydrate, lipid, vitamin and hormone metabolisms. In contrast, chicken proteins identified in jejunal and ileal contents were mostly proteases and peptidases. The present work highlights the relevance of using integrative proteomics applied to the entire digestive tract to better appreciate the protein profile and functions of each digestive segment.

Highlights

Poultry nutrition relies essentially on the use of tremendous amounts of imported soybean by-products while its production in non-European countries and transportation to Europe are deeply associated with negative environmental impacts[1]
An integrative comparison between all compartments was performed to better appreciate their respective specificity and function. These results provide interesting data about some molecular physiological specificities associated with each digestive segment and shed light on some critical factors resulting in an incomplete digestion of rapeseed-based meals, which may eventually alter the full functionality of the digestive tract
The use of new protein sources is sometimes limited due to the presence of anti-nutritional factors, whose activity depends both on the nature and the processing of the feed and the physiology of the digestive tract[2,18,19,20]

Summary

Introduction

Poultry nutrition relies essentially on the use of tremendous amounts of imported soybean by-products while its production in non-European countries and transportation to Europe are deeply associated with negative environmental impacts[1]. An integrative comparison between all compartments was performed to better appreciate their respective specificity and function These results provide interesting data about some molecular physiological specificities associated with each digestive segment and shed light on some critical factors resulting in an incomplete digestion of rapeseed-based meals, which may eventually alter the full functionality of the digestive tract. Such approach can be very promising to characterize the digestive efficiency of some new/ alternative protein sources including more unusual plants, seaweeds and insects, and may help to better evaluate their potential and their relevance in poultry nutrition, while maintaining the physiological and molecular integrity of the digestive tract. A better characterization of the interaction between the feed and the proteins recruited for digestion is required to have a full representation of benefits/risks of such new nutrition strategies

Methods

Results

Conclusion