Abstract
The impact of transgenerational effects on growth performance and immunity has not yet been studied extensively within the poultry husbandry sector. An important factor is the impact of the hens on the physical well-being and fitness to the environment of the offspring. This study is the first to investigate the effect of stimulating the maternal innate immune system with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) or β-glucan on growth performance and immune responses in the next generation. Transgenerational effects and consequences of these maternal treatments were further examined using a necrotic enteritis (NE) challenge model in the offspring. We show that offspring of LPS-treated broiler breeders have a higher feed efficiency from 14 to 21 days of age, that is, the period just after the NE challenge. Moreover, more broiler chickens with intestinal lesions after the NE challenge were found in the offspring of the LPS-treated broiler breeders. Both the LPS and β-glucan maternal treatments resulted in transgenerational effects on blood-derived monocytes by showing a tendency of decreased IL1β mRNA levels after ex vivo LPS stimulation. These data are a first indication that broiler breeder hens can affect immune responsiveness and feeding efficiency of their offspring in a transgenerational manner.
Highlights
Within the broiler husbandry sector, the containment of infectious diseases has always been a significant focus area
None of the maternal treatments showed an effect on body weight, average daily feed intake (ADFI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), ME, egg weight, chick weight, yolk-free body mass (YFBM), relative yolk weight of chick weight, Tona Score, fertility, mortality, and hatchability (Table 2 and Table S3: Egg and chick quality)
We aimed to investigate if maternal stimulation of the innate immune system with microbial-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) in broiler breeders could have an effect on growth performance parameters and immune responsiveness of their offspring
Summary
Within the broiler husbandry sector, the containment of infectious diseases has always been a significant focus area. An important factor is the impact of the hens on the well-being and fitness of their offspring. It has been hypothesized that the hens prepares her offspring for their environment through transmission of maternal antibodies (Gluckman et al, 2007; Hasselquist and Nilsson, 2009). When the living environments of hens and her offspring are equal, it is supposed that this generation is better prepared. No research has been done yet on investigating the mode of action and.
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