Poultry Breeding Research Articles

Industrial Symbiosis for Sustainable Management of Meat Waste: The Case of Śmiłowo Eco-Industrial Park, Poland.

This study presents the developing process of the Śmiłowo Eco-Park, located in the Noteć valley region (Poland), is a part of the biggest Polish agri-food consortium, from its initial small waste management company to its final structure as an eco-industrial park using industrial symbiosis methods. The industrial symbiosis applied in the Eco-park promotes a business model which covers the whole life cycle of the products starting from the plant growing by animal feed preparation, livestock breeding, meat preparations, meat-bone meal production from animal waste, and the use of pig slurry as a fertilizer. The Eco-park model is presented in the form of a system of connected stream flows of materials and energy covering the full lifecycle of products, from cereal cultivation, through the production of industrial feed, and poultry and pig breeding for the production of meat products. The solutions used include the prevention of environmental pollution through the modernization of existing processes, implementation of new technologies, reduction of waste and its reuse, recycling, and recovery of materials and energy, the substitution of raw materials with waste, and thermal treatment of waste and its use as biofuel. This case study allows for analyses of the organizational and technical key strategic activities which enable waste, including hazardous waste, to be transformed into valuable materials and energy. These activities have modified the system of material and energy flows through the value chain to realize the goal of allowing profitable management of waste according to circular economy methods and also indicates methods of supporting modifications of supply chains in terms of implementation of the industrial symbiosis business model according to its relationship with sustainable development, cleaner production, and circular economy models. EIP Śmiłowo annually utilizes 300,000 t meat waste, produces 110,000 t meat bone meal biofuel, uses 120,000 t of pig manure as fertilizers, produces 460,000 GJ bioenergy, eliminates 92,000 t CO2 emissions.

Methylene blue-mediated antimicrobial photodynamic therapy on chicken semen.

Artificial insemination is widely employed in poultry, but high degrees of bacterial contamination are often observed in semen because of its passage through the cloaca. Consequently, most semen extenders for birds have antibiotics that could aggravate bacterial resistance. We evaluated the potential of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (PDT) as an alternative to the use of antibiotics, and assessed whether changes in concentration and incubation time with methylene blue (MB), radiant exposure, and irradiance of light affect spermatozoa activity and bacteria in chicken semen. Incubation with MB (< 25 µM) did not alter sperm motility, regardless of the pre-irradiation time (PIT, 1 or 5 min). Following 1 min of PIT with MB at 10 µM, samples were irradiated for 30, 60, 120, and 180 s at irradiances of 44, 29, and 17 mW/ cm² (660 nm LedBox). MB and light alone did not interfere with the analyzed parameters. However, when both factors were associated, increases in light dose led to greater reductions in sperm parameters, regardless of the irradiance used. Besides, PDT conditions that were less harmful to spermatozoa were not able to significantly reduce bacterial colonies in chicken semen. A failure in MB selectivity could explain unsuccessful bacterial reduction following PDT. Further research involving other photosensitizers or conjugating molecules to MB to target microbial cells is needed for PDT application in poultry breeders.

Determinants of antimicrobial resistance occurrence in animal-based food, perceived by livestock farmers: A qualitative phenomenological study.

The determinants of antimicrobial resistance in human medicine have been copiously explored. On the other hand, the existing research in veterinary medicine and animal husbandry is in its infancy. The present qualitative study used the one-health approach to explore farmers' attitudes toward antimicrobial use and antimicrobial stewardship. The present qualitative study was phenomenological in type. It was conducted in 2022 in the two cities of Kerman and Bandar Abbas in Iran. The data were collected through in-depth interviews by semistructured interviews with 17 livestock, poultry, and aquatic animal breeders selected through purposive sampling. The interviews lasted between 35 and 65 min in the Farsi language. The data were analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis and Colaizzi's seven-step analysis technique. The open coding was done in MAXQDA 10 and the results of data analysis were classified into five main themes and 17 subthemes subcategories. The main categories include personal determinants, contextual determinants, legal and regulatory determinants, social determinants, and economic determinants. Considering the increasing use of antibiotics among livestock farmers and breeders of animals used as human food, different measures such as educational, regulatory, social, and even cultural interventions may be able to control and prevent antimicrobial resistance.

Removal of Antibiotic Resistance Genes from Animal Wastewater by Ecological Treatment Technology Based on Plant Absorption.

With the aim of controlling the pollution of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in livestock and poultry wastewater, this paper highlights an ecological treatment technology based on plant absorption and comprehensively discusses the removal effect, driving factors, removal mechanism, and distribution characteristics of ARGs in plant tissues. The review shows that ecological treatment technology based on plant absorption has gradually become an important method of wastewater treatment of livestock and poultry breeding and has a good ARG removal effect. In plant treatment ecosystems, microbial community structure is the main driver of ARGs, while mobile genetic elements, other pollutants, and environmental factors also affect the growth and decline of ARGs. The role of plant uptake and adsorption of matrix particles, which provide attachment sites for microorganisms and contaminants, cannot be ignored. The distribution characteristics of ARGs in different plant tissues were clarified and their transfer mechanism was determined. In conclusion, the main driving factors affecting ARGs in the ecological treatment technology of plant absorption should be grasped, and the removal mechanism of ARGs by root adsorption, rhizosphere microorganisms, and root exudates should be deeply explored, which will be the focus of future research.

Selective footprints and genes relevant to cold adaptation and other phenotypic traits are unscrambled in the genomes of divergently selected chicken breeds

BackgroundThe genomes of worldwide poultry breeds divergently selected for performance and other phenotypic traits may also be affected by, and formed due to, past and current admixture events. Adaptation to diverse environments, including acclimation to harsh climatic conditions, has also left selection footprints in breed genomes.ResultsUsing the Chicken 50K_CobbCons SNP chip, we genotyped four divergently selected breeds: two aboriginal, cold tolerant Ushanka and Orloff Mille Fleur, one egg-type Russian White subjected to artificial selection for cold tolerance, and one meat-type White Cornish. Signals of selective sweeps were determined in the studied breeds using three methods: (1) assessment of runs of homozygosity islands, (2) FST based population differential analysis, and (3) haplotype differentiation analysis. Genomic regions of true selection signatures were identified by two or more methods or in two or more breeds. In these regions, we detected 540 prioritized candidate genes supplemented them with those that occurred in one breed using one statistic and were suggested in other studies. Amongst them, SOX5, ME3, ZNF536, WWP1, RIPK2, OSGIN2, DECR1, TPO, PPARGC1A, BDNF, MSTN, and beta-keratin genes can be especially mentioned as candidates for cold adaptation. Epigenetic factors may be involved in regulating some of these important genes (e.g., TPO and BDNF).ConclusionBased on a genome-wide scan, our findings can help dissect the genetic architecture underlying various phenotypic traits in chicken breeds. These include genes representing the sine qua non for adaptation to harsh environments. Cold tolerance in acclimated chicken breeds may be developed following one of few specific gene expression mechanisms or more than one overlapping response known in cold-exposed individuals, and this warrants further investigation.

Driving reactive nitrogen emissions in China: Competition between scale and efficiency

AbstractReactive nitrogen (Nr) emissions aggravate air and water pollution across the world. The factors influencing Nr emissions have not been clearly uncovered, especially for regions under rapid economic growth. Here we modeled total Nr emissions in mainland China and analyzed factors driving their growth during the decade (2000–2010) of fastest socioeconomic development. Results show that total Nr emissions increased from 24.9 terrogram (Tg) to 35.2 Tg, a 41.7% increase with an average annual growth rate of 3.5%. Agricultural activities, including crop planting and livestock and poultry breeding, together took a substantial but decreasing share, from 75.2% in 2000 to 61.4% in 2010. Industrial wastewater discharge, energy use, and crop production are the three largest sources contributing to the Nr emissions growth. Factors related to scale (e.g., the amount of industrial energy use) led to a growth in Nr emissions, and factors related to efficiency (e.g., industrial energy use per unit of economic output) contributed to reduction. The decreasing effect of efficiency gains, however, was still unable to overcome the increasing effect of the activity scale. More in‐depth research studies on mitigation strategies are required, to inform the decoupling between socioeconomic development and Nr emissions.

Review on Poultry Production, Trends and Development Strategies in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has considerable livestock resource and poultry population is second ranked preceded by Cattle. Besides their important and numbers, little is known about their production systems, population growth, egg utilization trends and development strategies in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian poultry population is almost entirely composed of indigenous chicken and recent estimates showed that poultry 81.7%, 10.9%, and 7.4% are indigenous, hybrids and exotic, respectively. The distribution of poultry population in Ethiopia is diverging from region to region. Oromia region has the largest number of poultry population followed by Amhara, South Nation and Nationality People of Ethiopia (SNNP). Poultry production system in Ethiopia is indigenous and an integral part of farming system. Based on the objective, breed, flock size, housing, feeding, health, biosecurity level and technology used, the poultry production system in Ethiopia can be classified into extensive or scavenging, semi-intensive, small-scale intensive and large scale commercial poultry production system. The extensive scavenging and small-extensive scavenging systems are the dominant forms of poultry production in Ethiopia. The poultry population growth over the year almost stagnant because of high poultry mortality due to lack of adaptation of introduced exotic poultry, diseases, predators prevalent in the scavenging production systems and limited expansion of commercial poultry production both in terms of number of operators and volume of operation. The poultry sector did not have a clear roadmap guiding its development until the recent production of the LMP. The future study should be attention onto expansion of large scale commercial poultry production system, constraints of poultry population growth, adaption of introduced exotic poultry breeds and the reason for eggs sale and household consumption fluctuated.

The Synergy of Chicken Anemia Virus and Gyrovirus Homsa 1 in Chickens.

Chicken anemia virus (CAV) and Gyrovirus homsa 1 (GyH1) are members of the Gyrovirus genus. The two viruses cause similar clinical manifestations in chickens, aplastic anemia and immunosuppression. Our previous investigation displays that CAV and GyH1 often co-infect chickens. However, whether they have synergistic pathogenicity in chickens remains elusive. Here, we established a co-infection model of CAV and GyH1 in specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens to explore the synergy between CAV and GyH1. We discovered that CAV and GyH1 significantly inhibited weight gain, increased mortality, and hindered erythropoiesis in co-infected chickens. Co-infected chickens exhibited severe immune organ atrophy and lymphocyte exhaustion. The proventriculus and gizzard had severe hemorrhagic necrosis and inflammation. We also discovered that the viral loads and shedding levels were higher and lasted longer in CAV and GyH1 co-infected chickens than in mono-infected chickens. Our results demonstrate that CAV and GyH1 synergistically promote immunosuppression, pathogenicity, and viral replication in co-infected chicken, highlighting the interaction between CAV and GyH1 in the disease process and increasing potential health risk in the poultry breeding industry, and needs further attention.

Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Agricultural Carbon Emissions in China, 2000–2020

Agricultural carbon mitigation is one of the most important components of China’s carbon mitigation goals. This paper calculates China’s agricultural carbon emissions (ACEs) from 2000 to 2020, studies the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of China’s ACEs, and aims to provide references for the development of China’s ACEs reduction policies. The results show that the total ACEs in China presented an inverted “W” trend, with a slight increase of 2.81% in total. China’s ACEs mainly came from livestock and poultry breeding and agricultural material inputs. Although the carbon emissions from rice cultivation and soil accounted for a relatively low proportion, they showed an uptrend of fluctuation during the study period. From a geographical point of view, ACEs in the regions of central China and western China were relatively high compared to those in eastern China. Carbon emissions decreased for crop farming and livestock and poultry breeding in most eastern provinces. Crop farming carbon emissions grew, while the emissions from livestock and poultry breeding declined in most of the central provinces. Carbon emissions increased for crop farming and livestock and poultry breeding in most western provinces. Therefore, the existing low-carbon agricultural policies should be optimized, crop farming technologies should be improved, and specific policies should be applied in the corresponding regions to support China’s ACEs reduction.

Bacillus pumilus TS1 alleviates Salmonella Enteritidis-induced intestinal injury in broilers

BackgroundIn the current context of reduced and limited antibiotic use, several pathogens and stressors cause intestinal oxidative stress in poultry, which leads to a reduced feed intake, slow or stagnant growth and development, and even death, resulting in huge economic losses to the poultry breeding industry. Oxidative stress in animals is a non-specific injury for which no targeted drug therapy is available; however, the health of poultry can be improved by adding appropriate feed additives. Bacillus pumilus, as a feed additive, promotes growth and development and reduces intestinal oxidative stress damage in poultry. Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) senses oxidative damage and repairs unfolded and misfolded proteins; its protective effect has been widely investigated. Mitogen-activated protein kinase/protein kinase C (MAPK/PKC) and hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) are also common proteins associated with inflammatory response induced by several stressors, but there is limited research on these proteins in the context of poultry intestinal Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) infections. In the present study, we isolated a novel strain of Bacillus pumilus with excellent performance from the feces of healthy yaks, named TS1. To investigate the effect of TS1 on SE-induced enteritis in broilers, 120 6-day-old white-feathered broilers were randomly divided into four groups (con, TS1, SE, TS1 + SE). TS1 and TS1 + SE group chickens were fed with 1.4 × 107 colony-forming units per mL of TS1 for 15 days and intraperitoneally injected with SE to establish the oxidative stress model. Then, we investigated whether TS1 protects the intestine of SE-treated broiler chickens using inflammatory cytokine gene expression analysis, stress protein quantification, antioxidant quantification, and histopathological analysis.ResultsThe TS1 + SE group showed lower MDA and higher GSH-Px, SOD, and T-AOC than the SE group. TS1 alleviated the effects of SE on intestinal villus length and crypt depth. Our results suggest that SE exposure increased the expression of inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-4, and MCP-1), p38 MAPK, and PKCβ and decreased the expression of HSP60, HSP70, and HIF-1α, whereas TS1 alleviated these effects.ConclusionsBacillus pumilus TS1 alleviated oxidative stress damage caused by SE and attenuated the inflammatory response in broilers through MAPK/PKC regulation of HSPs/HIF-1α.

Research on multiple co-governance of agricultural non-point source pollution in China on the perspective of ENGOs and public participation.

Effective prevention and control of agricultural non-point source pollution is a major challenge faced by the Chinese local government in the context of rural revitalization, and clarifying the game relationship between stakeholders in agricultural non-point source pollution control actions will help achieve multiple co-governance better. Accordingly, this paper discusses the interactive decision-making relationships between local government and livestock and poultry breeding enterprise (LPBE) under the participation of Environmental non-government organizations (ENGOs) and public, by constructing an evolutionary game model, as well as analyzing evolutionary cooperative stability strategies and realizing the simulation of evolution processes in different scenarios by MATLAB. The results show that government subsidy has an incentive effect on LPBE to adopt the purifying strategy, yet reduces the enthusiasm of local government for supervision. Improving the participation degree and right space of ENGOs is conducive to the realization of multiple co-governance models. Furthermore, the impact of public participation on multiple co-governance of agricultural non-point source pollution is related to the local government's investigation rate and the public reporting fairness; strengthening the local government's supervision capacity and improving the public reporting fairness can achieve better collaborative governance effects.

Temporal Study of Salmonella enterica Serovars Isolated from Environmental Samples from Ontario Poultry Breeder Flocks between 2009 and 2018.

This study's goal was to determine the prevalence, temporal trends, seasonal patterns, and temporal clustering of Salmonella enterica isolated from environmental samples from Ontario's poultry breeding flocks between 2009 and 2018. Clusters of common serovars and those of human health concern were identified using a scan statistic. The period prevalence of S. enterica was 25.3% in broiler breeders, 6.4% in layer breeders, and 28.6% in turkey breeders. An overall decreasing trend in S. enterica prevalence was identified in broiler breeders (from 27.8% in 2009 to 22.1% in 2018) and layer breeders (from 15.4% to 4.9%), while an increasing trend was identified in turkey breeders (from 12.0% to 24.5%). The most common serovars varied by commodity. Among broiler breeders, S. enterica serovars Kentucky (42.4% of 682 submissions), Heidelberg (19.2%), and Typhimurium (5.4%) were the most common. Salmonella enterica serovars Thompson (20.0% of 195 submissions) and Infantis (16.4%) were most common among layer breeders, and S. enterica serovars Schwarzengrund (23.6% of 1368 submissions), Senftenberg (12.9%), and Heidelberg and Uganda (9.6% each) were most common among turkey breeders. Salmonella enterica ser. Enteritidis prevalence was highest in submissions from broiler breeders (3.7% of 682 broiler breeder submissions). Temporal clusters of S. enterica serovars were identified for all poultry commodities. Seasonal effects varied by commodity, with most peaks occurring in the fall. Our study provides information on the prevalence and temporality of S. enterica serovars within Ontario's poultry breeder flocks that might guide prevention and control programs at the breeder level.

The genetic impact of heat stress on the egg production of Thai native chickens (Pradu Hang dum).

Sustainable poultry production in adverse weather conditions is a widely debated issue, which has led to research into the development of breeds of poultry that are genetically resistant to heat. This study aimed to investigate the effects of heat stress on the genetics of monthly egg production and examine the threshold point of heat stress for preventing thermal stress and its effects on chicken productivity. The data of 5,965 monthly egg production records of 629 Thai native Pradu Hang dum chickens were used for analysis in combination with the temperature-humidity index (THI) calculated by meteorological data near the testing station. The average THI throughout the year was 76.6, and the highest was 82. The THI data were subsequently used to find the threshold point of heat stress. The THI equation used in this study was chosen by its highest correlation (-0.306) between THI values and monthly egg production. At a THI of 74, the lowest -2 logL was found and was considered the threshold point of heat stress. This means that monthly egg production would start decreasing when the THI was 74. Heritability was 0.15±0.03, and genetic and permanent environmental correlations were -0.29 and -0.48, respectively. The threshold point was used to estimate the estimated breeding values (EBVs) of the monthly egg production and heat stress individually, and EBVs were calculated into the selection index. The selection index values when the animal was selected for the replacement herd for all chickens (top 50%, 30%, 20%, and 10%) were 0.14, 0.90, 1.27, 1.53, and 1.91, respectively, and the genetic progress was 0.55, 0.60, 0.68, 0.75, and 0.77, respectively. This shows that the selection index values are lower if there are many selected animals. The recommendation for animal genetic selection is that the top 10% is appropriately because it seems to be most preferred. Therefore, using a selection index for high egg production and heat tolerance in Thai native chickens is possible to achieve genetic assessment in a large population.

Radical-/non-radical-mediated catalyst activation of peroxymonosulfate for efficient atrazine degradation

Efficient degradation technologies are urgent to be developed to avoid the ecological and healthy hazards brought from atrazine (ATZ). LaCoO3-δ/peroxymonosulfate (PMS) system was proved to have strong degradation capabilities to contaminants. In this work, we intended to investigate the effect of the synthesis method on LaCoO3−δ. However, the hydrothermal method yielded a new material (H–Co) with better catalytic performance than LaCoO3−δ, which showed stable catalytic ability at pH 3.0–9.0 and 5 consecutive cycles. The coexistence of inorganic Cl−, SO42−, NO3−, H2PO4−, HCO3− and organic humic acids exerted little influences on the H–Co/PMS system. In addition, the actual livestock and poultry breeding wastewater could be well degraded and mineralized by the H–Co/PMS system. Free radical burst experiments and EPR characterization were performed to verify the synergistic effects of free radicals and non-free radicals during ATZ degradation. Based on SEM, XRD, O2-TPD, FTIR, XPS, and electrochemistry characterizations, the efficient catalytic ability of H–Co could be attributed to the abundant oxygen vacancies, surface hydroxyl groups, zero-valent cobalt sites and high electronic conductivity. The degradation pathways were proposed based on the detection of degradation intermediates of ATZ by UPLC-MS. Moreover, the toxic of ATZ during the oxidation was evaluated by TEXT and E. coli inhibition assay. This work comprehensively analyzed the catalytic reaction mechanism of the H–Co/PMS system and provided a feasible pathway for the treatment of the actual livestock and poultry breeding wastewater.

Dynamic evolution and decoupling analysis of agricultural nonpoint source pollution in Taihu Lake Basin during the urbanization process

In recent years, as control of industrial point source pollution has gradually increased, agricultural nonpoint source pollution (ANPSP) has become an important focus of water pollution control. ANPSP is closely related to challenges in the urbanization process, though urbanization has mitigated water pollution control to a certain extent. In this study, taking the Taihu Lake Basin of China as an example, the dynamic interrelation between urbanization and ANPSP is macroscopically displayed by the Vector autoregressive (VAR) model, and the coevolution characteristics of the two are quantitatively measured by the decoupling index. Then, the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) decomposition method is used to explore the influence of urbanization's accompanying effects, including pollution intensity, economic structure, output level and population factors, on ANPSP. The results showed that (1) since 2006, total nitrogen (TN) has continued to decline, while total phosphorus (TP) initially increased then decreased. The main pollution sources were livestock and poultry breeding and planting, which showed a trend of alternating growth and decline. At the same time, the contributions of rural life and aquaculture to pollution gradually increased. (2) Urbanization has a positive effect on ANPSP control after reaching a certain stage, but there is a possibility of pollution rebound; urbanization mitigates ANPSP, but still contributes to environmental pollution. (3) The decoupling between urbanization and ANPSP is achieved across the basin. However, the decoupling level between TP and urbanization lagged behind the decoupling level between TN and urbanization. Meanwhile, the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the TP decoupling index is more evident than that of the TN index. (4) The intensity effect and structure effect promote the strong decoupling between urbanization and ANPSP, while the output effect and population effect make the decoupling relationship evolve to adverse states such as expansive negative decoupling and expansive coupling.

Comparative performance of different lines of New Hampshire breed of poultry in Nepal

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; A study was conducted to evaluate the comparative performance of four different lines of New Hampshire (NH) poultry breed collected from different governmental farms of Pokhara, Parwanipur, Khajura and Khumaltar, Nepal. The study was undertaken for seven months from March to September 2020. The study included 160 chicks with 20 male and 20 female from each line. The experiment was conducted in a Completely Randomized Design with four treatments of different lines and eight replications. The results showed that the highest average weight of day-old chicks was found for Khumaltar line and the lowest for Pokhara line (p&lt;0.001). Similarly, the highest fourth week’s weight was found 237.50±16.88 g in Khajura line and the lowest 191.60±26.53 g in Parwanipur line. In case of eight weeks weight, both male and female was the highest in Khajura line, which were 0.72±0.12 kg and 0.52±0.07 kg, respectively. At that stage, the male weight was significant (p&lt;0.001) but non-significant (p&gt;0.05) in female. Similar pattern was found in twelve and sixteen weeks, but the weight of both sex was significant (p&lt;0.001) at twenty and twenty-four weeks. At the final measurement in 24 weeks, the male and female weight was the highest in Khajura line and the lowest in Parwanipur line. The weight of both sexes of Pokhara and Khumaltar lines were similar. Khajura line was better than other lines indicating that this line is more appropriate be used for further improvement of the NH lines of the country.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Fat Content, Fatty Acid Composition, and Fatty Acid-based Nutritional Indices/Ratios of Egg Yolks from Different Poultry Species and Breeds

The nutritional value of egg yolk in terms of fat content and fatty acid (FA) composition is needed to evaluate their possible effect on human cardiovascular health and disease. This study determined the FA-based nutritional indices/ratios of egg yolks from 29 breeds belonging to seven poultry species (chicken, mallard, quail, Muscovy, guinea fowl, turkey, and ostrich) in a government poultry research station at Tiaong, Quezon, Philippines. At least four pooled samples (each consisting of four egg yolks) per breed were randomly collected and immediately frozen at –20 °C until analyzed for fat content and FA composition by gas chromatography. The major FAs in egg yolk with the highest proportions by weight of total FAs were oleic acid C18:1 n-9 (30.6–43.9%), palmitic acid C16:0 (22.2–54.4%), linoleic acid (LA) C18:2 n-6 (0.4–16.6%), and stearic acid C18:0 (4.0–12.1%). Compared to chicken and quail eggs, the mallard egg yolk seems to have more health benefits because of a lower LA to α-linolenic acid C18:3 n-3 (ALA) ratio (15.70: 1), atherogenicity (0.45), and thrombogenicity (0.91) – as well as higher yolk weight (22.7 g), fat content (31.8%), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) to saturated fatty acids (SFA) ratio (1.73: 1), health-promoting index (2.20), and hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio (2.26). Among mallard breeds, the egg yolks from Tsaiya and Pekin were superior to that from Itik-Pinas breeds. Egg yolk from other poultry species generally had lower FA-based nutritional values. Significant breed differences in fat content, FA composition, and nutritional indices/ratio were also reported for egg yolks from chicken, quail, and turkey.

Decoupling agriculture pollution and carbon reduction from economic growth in the Yangtze River Delta, China.

Agriculture is the foundation of the national economy, and agricultural nonpoint source pollution and carbon emissions are the main environmental problems limiting the development of the agricultural economy. This study takes the Yangtze River Delta as the research object and measures agricultural carbon emissions and nonpoint source pollution in the study area from 2010 to 2020 respectively. The Tapio decoupling model is used to study types of decoupling between agricultural pollution and carbon reduction and economic growth in the Yangtze River Delta from 2010 to 2020, and the GM (1,1) model is used to predict the decoupling relationship between the agricultural environment and economic growth over the next ten years. The results show the following: (1) Agricultural COD emissions come mainly from livestock and poultry breeding, dropped from 1,130,120 tons in 2010 to 908,460 tons in 2020. Agricultural TN and TP emissions come mainly from plantations. Agricultural TN emissions dropped from 892,310 tons in 2010 to 788,020 tons in 2020. Agricultural TP emissions dropped from 149,590 tons in 2010 to130,770 tons in 2020. Agricultural carbon emissions dropped from 17,115,900 tons in 2010 to 15,786,600 tons in 2020, and come mainly from agricultural fertilizer and diesel fuel and pig breeding. (2) The decoupling effect of agricultural pollution reduction and carbon reduction in the Yangtze River Delta and economic growth has been in a long-term state, with negative decoupling occurring in a few regions, mainly in 2011, 2014 and 2020. (3) In the next ten years, except for 2021, when the coordination between agricultural pollution reduction and economic growth is poor, the two show good decoupling in the remaining years. Based on the results, this study makes recommendations on how to carry out comprehensive environmental management and promote green agricultural development.

An Overview of Poultry Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Mediterranean Area

The growing population and income drive the rapid increase in food demand. Greece and a few other Mediterranean countries are characterized as countries with a high proportion of mountains favoring goat and sheep breeding; however, poultry breeding is also important, and production is increasing rapidly. Poultry breeding is characterized by the millions of birds reared with increased quantities and prices of feedstuffs. There is a parallel increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions., since poultry production generates a significant amount of GHG. The aim of the present study was to provide an overview of poultry GHG in the Mediterranean area. Emissions’ sources and mitigation practices are presented. Future is promising given that sustainable practices are implemented.

Dietary Epimedium extract supplementation improves intestinal functions and alters gut microbiota in broilers

BackgroundGrowth-promoting antibiotics have been banned by law in the livestock and poultry breeding industry in many countries. Various alternatives to antibiotics have been investigated for using in livestock. Epimedium (EM) is an herb rich in flavonoids that has many beneficial effects on animals. Therefore, this study was planned to explore the potential of EM as a new alternative antibiotic product in animal feed.MethodsA total of 720 1-day-old male broilers (Arbor Acres Plus) were randomly divided into six groups and fed basal diet (normal control; NC), basal diet supplemented with antibiotic (75 mg/kg chlortetracycline; CTC), and basal diet supplemented with 100, 200, 400 or 800 mg/kg EM extract for 6 weeks (EM100, EM200, EM400 and EM800 groups). The growth performance at weeks 3 and 6 was measured. Serum, intestinal tissue and feces were collected to assay for antioxidant indexes, intestinal permeability, lactic acid and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) profiles, microbial composition, and expression of intestinal barrier genes.ResultsThe average daily feed intake in CTC group at 1–21 d was significantly higher than that in the NC group, and had no statistical difference with EM groups. Compared with NC group, average daily gain in CTC and EM200 groups increased significantly at 1–21 and 1–42 d. Compared with NC group, EM200 and EM400 groups had significantly decreased levels of lipopolysaccharide and D-lactic acid in serum throughout the study. The concentrations of lactic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid and SCFAs in feces of birds fed 200 mg/kg EM diet were significantly higher than those fed chlortetracycline. The dietary supplementation of chlortetracycline and 200 mg/kg EM significantly increased ileal expression of SOD1, Claudin-1 and ZO-1 genes. Dietary supplemented with 200 mg/kg EM increased the relative abundances of g_NK4A214_group and Lactobacillus in the jejunal, while the relative abundances of Microbacterium, Kitasatospora, Bacteroides in the jejunal and Gallibacterium in the ileum decreased.ConclusionSupplementation with 200 mg/kg EM extract improved the composition of intestinal microbiota by regulating the core bacterial genus Lactobacillus, and increased the concentration of beneficial metabolites lactic acid and SCFAs in the flora, thereby improving the antioxidant capacity and intestinal permeability, enhancing the function of tight junction proteins. These beneficial effects improved the growth performance of broilers.Graphical