Abstract
BackgroundOverfeeding reduces laying performance in broiler breeder hens, which is associated with obesity, hepatic steatosis and systemic inflammation. To unravel the underlying mechanisms governing the effect of feeding regimes on energy metabolism and egg production, a transcriptomics approach was carried out for screening differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in ovary, liver and adipose tissues of broiler chickens under ad libitum and restricted feeding.ResultsIt showed that 289, 388 and 204 DEGs were identified in the adipose, liver and ovary, respectively. These DEGs were significantly enriched in phagosome pathway, lipid transport, activity and nutrient reservoir activity in ovary; steroid hormone biosynthesis and metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450 pathways in adipose tissue; and the metabolic pathways, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) and Jak-STAT signaling pathway in liver. Estrogen receptor 1, identified as one of important hubs by constructing PPI network, was up-regulated in ad libitum group, which would make more apolipoproteins be transferred to ovary.ConclusionsHigh expression of VTGs, APOB, CYBB and CTSS in ovary would induce excess lipid deposit, oxidative stress and potential damage to ovulation. Our results contribute to understanding effects of feeding regimes on metabolic regulation during egg production of broiler breeder hens and also provide new evidence of metabolic regulation from integrated multi-tissue processes.
Highlights
Overfeeding reduces laying performance in broiler breeder hens, which is associated with obesity, hepatic steatosis and systemic inflammation
Adipose tissue was regarded as an endocrine organ which can secrete multiple hormones and influence various hormones synthesized from other organs [20, 21]
An average of 367.3 million raw reads were detected in 6 samples from each tissue
Summary
Overfeeding reduces laying performance in broiler breeder hens, which is associated with obesity, hepatic steatosis and systemic inflammation. To unravel the underlying mechanisms governing the effect of feeding regimes on energy metabolism and egg production, a transcriptomics approach was carried out for screening differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in ovary, liver and adipose tissues of broiler chickens under ad libitum and restricted feeding. Restricting feed of broiler hens to about 50 to 60% of full-feeding is a usual practice to prevent obesity, reduce metabolic disorder and increase egg production [5,6,7,8]. There were some reports about the effect of ad libitum vs restricted feeding on the egg production, metabolic hormones, welfare, enzyme and some genes expression in broiler breeders [9, 16, 24, 25]. The molecular mechanism regulating these differences by ad libitum vs. restricted has not been completely elucidated
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