Abstract
BackgroundThe sustainability of poultry farming relies on the development of more efficient and autonomous production systems in terms of feed supply. This implies a better integration of adaptive traits in breeding programs, including digestive efficiency, in order to favor the use of a wider variety of feedstuffs. The aim of the project was to improve the understanding of genes involved in digestive functions by characterizing the transcriptome of different sections of the digestive tract: the junction between the proventriculus and the gizzard, the gizzard, the gastroduodenal junction, and the jejunum.ResultsTotal RNA from the four tissues were sequenced on a HiSeq2500 for six 23-day-old chickens from a second generation (F2) cross between two lines that were divergent for their digestive efficiency (D+/D-). Bioinformatics and biostatistics analyses of the RNA-seq data showed a total of 11,040 differentially expressed transcripts between the four tissues. In total, seven clusters of genes with markedly different expression profiles were identified. Functional analysis on gene groups was performed using “Gene Ontology” and semantic similarity. It showed a significant enrichment of body immune defenses in the jejunum, and an enrichment of transcriptional activity in the gizzard. Moreover, an interesting enrichment for neurohormonal control of muscle contraction was found for the two gizzard’s junctions.ConclusionThis analysis allows us to draw the first molecular portrait of the different sections of the digestive tract, which will serve as a basis for future studies on the genetic and physiological control of the response of the animal to feed variations.
Highlights
The sustainability of poultry farming relies on the development of more efficient and autonomous production systems in terms of feed supply
The transcriptomic analysis confirmed that the four tissues (I: isthmus, G: gizzard, GD: gastro-duodenal junction, and JE: jejunum) were clearly different compared to one another (Fig. 1a), and that the jejunum was the most different tissue compared to the three others
Gastrokine 1 seems to have a mitogenic activity and may play a role in the maintenance of the integrity of the gastric mucosal epithelium [32, 33]. This analysis allows us to draw a first molecular portrait of the various sections of the digestive tract of chickens selected for their digestive efficiency
Summary
The sustainability of poultry farming relies on the development of more efficient and autonomous production systems in terms of feed supply This implies a better integration of adaptive traits in breeding programs, including digestive efficiency, in order to favor the use of a wider variety of feedstuffs. The evolution towards more sustainable livestock systems implies limiting inputs and to making use of the adaptive capacity of the animals to changing and even unfavorable dietary conditions. This requires a better understanding of adaptation processes - especially those related to digestive efficiency - in order to improve poultry breeding schemes. These results suggest that several functions are expected to be involved in the control of digestive efficiency
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