Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America.
UC Davis Lung Center, Davis, CA, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2023 May 22;18(5):e0285726. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285726. eCollection 2023.
According to industry estimates, approximately 7 billion day-old male chicks are disposed of annually worldwide because they are not of use to the layer industry. A practical process to identify the sex of the egg early in incubation without penetrating the egg would improve animal welfare, reduce food waste and mitigate environmental impact. We implemented a moderate vacuum pressure system through commercial egg-handling suction cups to collect volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Three separate experiments were set up to determine optimal conditions to collect eggs VOCs to discriminate male from female embryos. Optimal extraction time (2 min), storage conditions (short period of incubation during egg storage (SPIDES) at days 8-10 of incubation), and sampling temperature (37.5°C) were determined. Our VOC-based method could correctly differentiate male from female embryos with more than 80% accuracy. These specifications are compatible with the design of specialized automation equipment capable of high-throughput, in-ovo sexing based on chemical sensor microchips.
据行业估计，全球每年大约有 70 亿只雏鸡在孵化后被处理掉，因为它们对蛋鸡产业没有用处。如果有一种实用的方法可以在孵化早期不穿透鸡蛋就能识别鸡蛋的性别，这将提高动物福利，减少食物浪费并减轻环境影响。我们通过商业鸡蛋处理吸盘实施了适度的真空压力系统，以收集挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）。我们设置了三个独立的实验，以确定收集鸡蛋 VOCs 以区分雄性和雌性胚胎的最佳条件。确定了最佳提取时间（2 分钟）、储存条件（孵化期间短时间储存（SPIDES）在孵化第 8-10 天）和采样温度（37.5°C）。我们的基于 VOC 的方法可以以超过 80%的准确率正确地区分雄性和雌性胚胎。这些规格与专门的自动化设备的设计兼容，该设备能够基于化学传感器微芯片进行高通量、在鸡蛋内的性别鉴定。
