Modulation of digestive enzyme activities in the avian digestive tract in relation to diet composition and quality.
In nature, birds are faced with variable food sources that may differ in composition (protein vs. carbohydrates) and quality (highly digestible material vs. indigestible fiber). Studies in passerine birds and some commercial poultry demonstrate that the gastrointestinal tract can respond to varying diet composition and quality by changing morphology and/or activities of digestive enzymes. However, studies in additional avian species are warranted to understand generalities of these trends. We first fed juvenile mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), chickens (Gallus gallus), and quails (Coturnix coturnix) on either high-carbohydrate or high-protein diets. For the most part, birds fed the high-carbohydrate diet had higher small intestinal and cecal disaccharidase activities (maltase and sucrase). However, only mallards exhibited higher small intestinal aminopeptidase-N (APN) activities when fed the high-protein diet. These results differ from passerine birds, which largely modulate small intestinal proteases, but not disaccharidases. In another trial, we fed Canada geese (Branta canadensis) diets that varied in both their protein and fiber concentrations for approximately 3.5 months. Birds fed the high-fiber diets had significantly longer small intestines and caeca compared to those fed low-fiber diets. Additionally, geese fed the high-fiber diets exhibited lower mass-specific activities of small intestinal sucrase, and higher activities of APN when summed across the small intestine and ceca. Similar to the avian species above, geese fed the high-protein diets did not exhibit flexibility in their small intestinal APN activities. Overall, these experiments demonstrate that responsiveness of the avian digestive tract to diet composition may have phylogenetic or ecological constraints. Studies on other avian taxa are needed to understand these patterns.
Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 465 21st Ave South, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA. kevin.d.kohl@gmail.com.|Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones Biológicas de San Luis, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Chacabuco 917, San Luis, 5700, Argentina. kevin.d.kohl@gmail.com.|Departamento de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Chacabuco 917, San Luis, 5700, Argentina. kevin.d.kohl@gmail.com.
Kevin D
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1126-2949
KD
Kohl
Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones Biológicas de San Luis, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Chacabuco 917, San Luis, 5700, Argentina.|Departamento de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Chacabuco 917, San Luis, 5700, Argentina.
M Eugenia
ME
Ciminari
Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones Biológicas de San Luis, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Chacabuco 917, San Luis, 5700, Argentina.|Departamento de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Chacabuco 917, San Luis, 5700, Argentina.
Juan G
JG
Chediack
Canadian Wildlife Service, 150-123 Main Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3C 4W2, Canada.
James O
JO
Leafloor
Department of Forestry and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin Madison, 1630 Linden Dr., Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
William H
WH
Karasov
Department of Natural Resources Science, University of Rhode Island, 1 Greenhouse Road, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA.
Scott R
SR
McWilliams
Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones Biológicas de San Luis, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Chacabuco 917, San Luis, 5700, Argentina.|Departamento de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Chacabuco 917, San Luis, 5700, Argentina.|Department of Forestry and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin Madison, 1630 Linden Dr., Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
Enrique
E
Caviedes-Vidal
D000818:Animals; D030161:Avian Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018826:CD13 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism*; D003370:Coturnix / Q000378:metabolism; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary*; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000494:pharmacology; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D004063:Digestion / Q000502:physiology; D004372:Ducks / Q000378:metabolism*; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000201:enzymology*; D005777:Geese / Q000502:physiology*; D013213:Starch / Q000494:pharmacology; D013393:Sucrase / Q000378:metabolism; D000520:alpha-Glucosidases / Q000378:metabolism
D030161:Avian Proteins; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D013213:Starch; D000520:alpha-Glucosidases; D013393:Sucrase; D018826:CD13 Antigens
Birds; Digestion; Digestive physiology; Fiber; Maltase
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