Abstract
This study intended to explore the effect and mechanism of different doses of dietary quercetin on calcium and phosphorus metabolism to provide an experimental basis for preventing leg disease in broilers. A total of 480 1-day-old healthy Arbor Acre broilers were randomly allotted into four groups (0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06%) for 42 days. Compared with control, 0.06% quercetin significantly increased the unit weight and the relative weight of tibia in broilers (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, phosphorus content and bone mineral density (BMD) were significantly increased by 0.06% dietary quercetin supplementation in tibia (P < 0.05). Ash of tibia was significantly increased by 0.04 and 0.06% quercetin in broilers (P < 0.05). In addition, 0.06% quercetin significantly increased the content of serum calcium-binding protein (CB), estradiol (E2), osteocalcin (OC), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and calcitonin (CT) (P < 0.05); 0.04% quercetin significantly increased 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-(OH)2D3) (P < 0.05) content in serum of broilers. The content of serum parathyroid (PTH) was significantly decreased by 0.02 and 0.06% quercetin (P < 0.05) in broilers. Gene Ontology (GO) functional annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis showed that the Wnt signaling pathway was a key signaling pathway of calcium and phosphorus metabolism in broilers which was significantly regulated by quercetin. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from transcriptome sequencing were validated with real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). In conclusion, 0.06% dietary quercetin supplementation improved calcium and phosphorus metabolism by regulating the Wnt signaling pathway in broilers.
Highlights
The poultry industry is vital for creating the national economy
The relative weight of tibia was significantly increased by 0.06% quercetin (P < 0.05)
The present results showed that 9,231 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of control/0.02% quercetin were annotated into 334 pathways, 9,899 DEGs of control/0.04% quercetin were annotated into 334 pathways, and 10,544 DEGs of control/0.06% quercetin were annotated into 337 pathways (Table 7)
Summary
The poultry industry is vital for creating the national economy. Poultry-provided animal protein is widely consumed by humans, namely chicken and eggs. Broilers grow faster but are at higher risk of TD due to fast movement and weight gain, resulting in weak bones and lameness, and the disease incidence is as high as 40–60% in the flocks [5, 6]. Leg diseases are considered to be the biggest economic threats to the poultry industry and may not Calcium and Phosphorus Metabolism be ignored in the breeding industry of broilers [7, 8]. To effectively improve the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus and reduce the occurrence of TD in broilers, functional feed additives to prevent leg disease in broilers need to be studied [13, 14]
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