Effect of heat stress on protein utilization and nutrient transporters in meat-type chickens

• Published in: International journal of biometeorology Vol. 61; no. 12; pp. 2111 - 2118
• Main Authors: Habashy, Walid S., Milfort, Marie C., Fuller, Alberta L., Attia, Youssef A., Rekaya, Romdhane, Aggrey, Samuel E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-12-2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Ambient temperature; Animal Physiology; Biological and Medical Physics; Biophysics; Birds; Cages; Chickens; Chicks; Digestibility; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental Health; Gene expression; Heat stress; Heat tolerance; High temperature; Ileum; Juveniles; Lipids; Meat; Meteorology; Nutrient utilization; Original Paper; Plant Physiology; Protein transport; Proteins; Retention; Temperature effects; Nutrient transporters; Feed intake; Digestibility; Pectoralis major
• ISSN: 0020-7128; 1432-1254
• DOI: 10.1007/s00484-017-1414-1

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of heat stress (HS) on digestibility of protein and fat and the expression of nutrient transporters in broilers. Forty-eight male Cobb500 chicks were used in this study. At day 14, birds were randomly divided into two groups and kept under either constant normal temperature (25 °C) or high temperature (35 °C) in individual cages. Five birds per treatment at 1 and 12 days post-treatment were euthanized, and
Pectoralis major
(
P. major
) and ileum were sampled for gene expression analysis. At day 33, ileal contents were collected and used for digestibility analysis. The total consumption and retention of protein and fat were significantly lower in the HS group compared to the control group. Meanwhile, the retention of crude protein per BWG was significantly higher in the HS group compared to the control group. In
P. major
and ileum tissues at day 1, transporters FATP1 and SGLT1 were down-regulated in the HS group. Meanwhile, FABP1 and PepT1 were down-regulated only in the ileum of the HS group. The converse was shown in
P. major
. The nutrient transporter FABP1 at day 12 post-HS was down-regulated in the
P. major
and ileum, but GLUT1 and PepT2 were down-regulated only in the ileum, and PepT1 was down-regulated only in the
P. major
compared with the control group. These changes in nutrient transporters suggest that high ambient temperature might change the ileum and
P. major
lipids, glucose, and oligopeptide transporters.