Confined housing system increased abdominal and subcutaneous fat deposition and gene expressions of carbohydrate response element-binding protein and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 in chicken.
Free-range production system is increasingly being used in poultry breeding and feed production in many countries. The objective of the current experiment was to evaluate the effects of different raising systems on fat-related traits and mRNA levels of liver lipogenesis genes in Erlang Mountainous chicken. Each of 10 birds (91 day old) from caged, indoor-floor housed, and free-range housing systems was slaughtered, and fat-related traits, live body weight (BW), subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), abdominal fat weight (AFW), abdominal fat percentage (AFP), and intramuscular fat content were determined. The mRNA levels of liver X receptor α, carbohydrate response element-binding protein (ChREBP), sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP1), and fatty acid synthase were detected. The caged chicken exhibited significantly higher BW, SFT, and AFW than those of free-ranged chicken (P < 0.05). All the 4 genes had a similar expression pattern, and they showed the highest level in caged chicken, while the lowest level was found in free-ranged chicken. Association analysis indicated that there were significant (P < 0.05) or highly significant (P < 0.01) positive correlations between the mRNA levels of ChREBP, SREBP1, and fat traits of SFT, AFW, and AFP. Thus, we deduced that increased fat deposition in caged chicken was probably induced by increased gene expression of ChREBP and SREBP1 in the liver.
College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agriculture University, Ya'an, Sichuan Province, China.
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Li
College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agriculture University, Ya'an, Sichuan Province, China.
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Zhao
Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
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Gilbert
College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agriculture University, Ya'an, Sichuan Province, China.
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Liu
College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agriculture University, Ya'an, Sichuan Province, China.
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Wang
College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agriculture University, Ya'an, Sichuan Province, China.
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Qiu
College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agriculture University, Ya'an, Sichuan Province, China zhuqing5959@163.com.
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Zhu
D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D030161:Avian Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051778:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001835:Body Weight; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics*; D064429:Fatty Acid Synthases / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006799:Housing, Animal; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D051780:Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D050151:Subcutaneous Fat / Q000378:metabolism*
D030161:Avian Proteins; D051778:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors; D051780:Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1; D064429:Fatty Acid Synthases