Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of high levels of Tenebrio molitor dietary inclusion (15%) on molecular mechanisms that influence poultry health in a broiler chicken diet. The global gene expression of four tissues (breast, liver, jejunum, and caecum) was evaluated using the RNA-Seq approach. The analysis of differentially expressed genes suggested that the use of Tenebrio molitor leads to the overexpression of genes related to protein elongation required for tissue growth and development in the gut and liver. It would also appear to contain nutrients that reduce the expression of genes related to the immune system and inflammation of the mucosa. The dietary inclusion of Tenebrio molitor in poultry could also lead to a possible inactivation of the growth factor and a reduction of tissue free-radicals. No genes alterations have been detected in liver RNA expression that would discourage the use of larvae in feeding broilers.
Highlights
In the modern world, human and animal populations experience exponential growth, and the consequent scarcity of protein sources leads to an increasing interest in insect meal for animal and human nutrition
The analysis identified 15 molecules in breast, 22 in liver, 38 in the jejunum, and 46 in the caecum tissues involved on 1244 known pathways; the main pathways were related to ubiquitin protein, coding by the ubiquitin B gene (UBB)
This study showed that dietary Tenebrio molitor (TM) meal inclusion can influence metabolic pathways in poultry
Summary
Human and animal populations experience exponential growth, and the consequent scarcity of protein sources leads to an increasing interest in insect meal for animal and human nutrition. Several studies highlighted the opportunity to use insects, containing a large amount of high-quality protein, as a standard ingredient in animal feeds [5–10]. Insect meal as a protein source represents a unique opportunity for animal nutrition due to its low competitiveness with human nutrition [11]. Insect meal currently appears as a promising protein source in poultry nutrition [3,4,6,11,12]. In the European Union, insect-derived proteins are currently authorized for feeding fish, pets, poultry, and pigs, but not for ruminants [1]. Tenebrio molitor (TM), a species of darkling beetle, is the first insect approved by the European Food
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