Department of Poultry Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.
Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Alborz, Iran.
Vet Med Sci. 2024 Nov;10(6):e70056. doi: 10.1002/vms3.70056.
Quail is an efficient poultry species known for many years, and its productivity is highly affected by gastrointestinal function, health, digestion and commensal bacteria. Specific histological parameters and nutrient absorption-related genes could be used to study intestinal functionality and efficiency.
This study aimed to evaluate the mRNA abundance of nutrient absorption-related genes and intestinal histology changes in laying Japanese quail during productive lifespan.
A total of 135 quails from a commercial flock at different egg production periods (early production [EP, 6 weeks of age], pick production [PP, 21 weeks of age] and post pick production [PPP, 40 weeks of age]) were randomly selected (n = 45/group) and kept for 6 weeks. Production performance was evaluated during last 2 weeks of the experimental period, and tissue samples were taken from the duodenum, jejunum and ileum for histological analysis and mRNA abundance purposes at the end of the experiment. The mRNA abundance of the CALB1, SGLT1, SGLT5, EAAT3 and NaPi-IIb genes were compared among groups.
Production period did not affect the eggshell thickness, goblet cell number and mRNA abundance of CALB1, EAAT3 and NaPi-IIb (p > 0.05). The PPP quails had the highest egg weight and FCR compared to EP and PP quails (p < 0.001). Egg production and egg mass of the EP and PP quails were higher than those of PPP quails (p < 0.001). Moreover, EP quails had the highest villus height (VH)/crypt depth (CD) ratio in the duodenum and jejunum and the lowest VH:CD in the ileum compared with the PPP quails (p < 0.01). The lowest SGLT1 mRNA abundance was noted in the PP quails, whereas EP quails had the highest SGLT5 mRNA abundance (p < 0.05).
In conclusion, although histology parameter changes were in-line with the lowest performance observed in the PPP quails, the current results failed to show a relationship between mRNA abundance changes and production performance attributes at different productive lifespans.
鹌鹑是一种多年来广为人知的高效家禽，其生产力受胃肠道功能、健康、消化和共生细菌的影响很大。特定的组织学参数和与营养吸收相关的基因可用于研究肠道功能和效率。
本研究旨在评估产蛋期日本鹌鹑生产寿命期间与营养吸收相关的基因 mRNA 丰度和肠道组织学变化。
从商业鸡群中随机选择 135 只处于不同产蛋期的鹌鹑（早期产蛋 [EP，6 周龄]、高峰期产蛋 [PP，21 周龄] 和高峰期后产蛋 [PPP，40 周龄]）（每组 45 只），并饲养 6 周。在实验期间的最后 2 周评估生产性能，并在实验结束时从十二指肠、空肠和回肠采集组织样本进行组织学分析和 mRNA 丰度测定。比较各组 CALB1、SGLT1、SGLT5、EAAT3 和 NaPi-IIb 基因的 mRNA 丰度。
产蛋期不影响蛋壳厚度、杯状细胞数量和 CALB1、EAAT3 和 NaPi-IIb 的 mRNA 丰度（p＞0.05）。PPP 鹌鹑的蛋重和 FCR 最高，而 EP 和 PP 鹌鹑的蛋重和 FCR 最低（p＜0.001）。EP 和 PP 鹌鹑的产蛋量和蛋重均高于 PPP 鹌鹑（p＜0.001）。此外，EP 鹌鹑的十二指肠和空肠绒毛高度（VH）/隐窝深度（CD）比值最高，回肠 VH:CD 比值最低（p＜0.01）。PP 鹌鹑的 SGLT1 mRNA 丰度最低，而 EP 鹌鹑的 SGLT5 mRNA 丰度最高（p＜0.05）。
综上所述，尽管组织学参数的变化与 PPP 鹌鹑观察到的最低性能相符，但目前的结果未能显示不同产蛋寿命期间基因 mRNA 丰度变化与生产性能属性之间的关系。
