Effects in broiler hens of genetic lines differing in fertility, biotin supplementation, and age on relative abundance of oviductal transforming growth factor-ß and carbonic anhydrase mRNA transcripts.

There was evaluation of effects of biotin administration on oviductal abundance of transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) and carbonic anhydrase (CA) mRNA transcript in younger and older broiler hens of relatively lesser and greater fertility lines. Additionally, effects of biotin supplementation on attenuation of age-related subfertility were evaluated. Hens from the relatively greater (Line D, n = 60) and lesser (Line B, n = 60) fertility rate line were randomly assigned to three treatment groups. Biotin was not or was administered in drinking water from 30 to 33 (younger age) and 53 to 56 (older age) wk of age to have access to no biotin (T0), or 0.3 (T1), or 0.45 (T2) mg/L of biotin. There was assessment the relative oviductal abundances of TGF-ß and CA mRNA transcript abundances. Supplemental biotin and age had no effect on the relative abundance of oviductal TGF-ß mRNA transcript in hens of Line D. There, however, was a ten-fold greater abundance of TGF-ß in hens of the T0 group of Line B compared with Line D. Relative abundance of TGF-ß mRNA transcript was greater in younger hens of Line B; however, biotin supplementation of older hens of the T2 group of Line B resulted in a similar TGF-ß abundance to that of younger hens. Inconstant with the TGF-ß abundance, CA abundance in hens of Line B was not affected by supplemental biotin or bird age. Overall, differences in TGF-ß or CA abundances did not affect fertility of broiler hens.

Effects of dietary curcumin supplementation on seminal quality indices and fertility rate in broiler breeder roosters.

1. Decreased semen quality is an underlying contributor to age-related subfertility in broiler breeder roosters. This study investigated the effects of dietary curcumin (derived from turmeric) supplementation as an antioxidant source on semen quality and fertility in broiler breeder roosters. 2. Twenty-eight Ross 308 roosters were randomly allotted to four groups with seven birds in each and were fed a standard diet supplemented with different levels of curcumin at 0 (C0), 10 (C10), 20 (C20) and 30 (C30) mg/bird per day from 48 through to 61 weeks of age. Body weight and semen quality traits were evaluated on a weekly basis and seminal concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) as a measure of antioxidation status were quantified at one-week intervals during the first 11 weeks of the trial (48-59 weeks of age). Semen samples from last 2 weeks (60 and 61 weeks of age) were used to artificially inseminate to assess the sperm-egg penetration (SP) in perivitelline membrane and fertility rates. 3. Except for body weight and ejaculate volume, other characteristics, including semen concentration, total sperm production, progressive motility and plasma membrane integrity were linearly improved by the increasing levels of curcumin supplementation (P < 0.01). However, dietary curcumin levels were linearly and quadratically associated with decreased seminal concentration of MDA (P < 0.01 and P < 0.03), percentage of abnormal sperm (P < 0.01 and P < 0.07) and increased plasma membrane functionality (P < 0.01 and P < 0.04), respectively. The SP holes in perivitelline membrane were increased in a linear and quadratic manner in response to increasing levels of curcumin (P < 0.01). Moreover, fertility rate was linearly improved (P < 0.01) as the dosage of curcumin increased, and resulted in 8, 12 and 14% improvements in the birds fed C10, C20 and C30, compared to C0, respectively. 4. In conclusion, the results showed that increasing levels of dietary supplementation of curcumin was associated with beneficial effects on semen quality indices and fertility rate in aged broiler breeder roosters.

Dietary conjugated linoleic acid supplementation alters the expression of genes involved in the endocannabinoid system in the bovine endometrium and increases plasma progesterone concentrations.

Endocannabinoids are derived from phospholipids and reduce fertility by interfering with implantation. Identification of changes in the expression of genes of the endocannabinoid system as a result of dietary inclusion of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is critical to the advancement of our understanding of the nutritional regulation of uterine function. An experiment was conducted on transition cows to evaluate the expression of key endocannabinoid genes in bovine endometrium in response to dietary supplementation with CLA. A total of 16 cows were randomly assigned to two treatments: (1) control (75 g/day palm oil) and (2) CLA (75 g/day CLA) from 21 days prepartum to Day 42 postpartum. Cows underwent uterine biopsy on days 21 and 42 postpartum. The abundance of mRNA encoding endocannabinoid receptor (CNR2), N-acyl phosphatidylethanolamine phospholipase D (NAPEPLD), fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), N-acylethanolamine acid amidase (NAAA), and monoglyceride lipase (MGLL) was measured by real-time PCR. Results reported that relative levels of mRNA encoding CNR2 and NAPEPLD were decreased (P < 0.05) compared with control cows between Days 21 and 42 postpartum. Relative levels of mRNA coding for NAAA and MGLL were not different (P > 0.05) in the same situation. Mean plasma progesterone concentrations were higher in CLA-fed cows compared with control cows at Day 42 postpartum (3.51 and 1.42 ng/mL, respectively, P < 0.05). In conclusion, we suggest that the beneficial effects of a diet enriched with CLA are the result of a decrease in relative gene expression of the endocannabinoid receptor (CNR2) and enzymes that synthesize fatty acid amides (NAPEPLD) and of an increase in the expression of PTGS2 that in turn can oxidate endocannabinoids and consequently resulted in increased plasma progesterone concentrations during early lactation.

The effect of feeding excess arginine on lipogenic gene expression and growth performance in broilers.

1. Reducing excess fat accretion is important for both human health and animal production. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of arginine (Arg) on the regulation of lipogenic gene expression and on growth performance. 2. One-d-old female broiler chicks (Ross, n = 192) were used in a completely randomised design with 4 dietary treatments in which diets included 100% (CTL), 153% (LArg), 168% (MArg) and 183% (HArg) of the recommended concentration of digestible Arg. 3. Results showed that high concentrations of Arg improved body weight gain, feed efficiency, meat production, fat and crude protein content of breast muscle and plasma thyroid hormones. Conversely, abdominal fat, cholesterol, triglyceride and urea were lower with higher concentrations of Arg. Dietary arginine increased lipogenic gene expression in muscles, while decreasing those in adipose tissue and liver. 4. It was concluded that increasing Arg in the diet reduced abdominal fat content, enhanced intramuscular fat and increased muscle and protein gain. Furthermore, Arg supplementation at the MArg concentration improved growth performance, and at HArg had the greatest effect on fat reduction.

Effects of different polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementations during the postpartum periods of early lactating dairy cows on milk yield, metabolic responses, and reproductive performances.

In spite of the difficulties in delivering PUFA to ruminants, studies have generally indicated that the PUFA of the omega-6 (linoleic acid) and omega-3 [α-linolenic acid; eicosapentaenoic (EPA), C20:5 omega-3; docosahexaenoic (DHA), C22:6 omega-3] families are the most beneficial to improving reproduction in cows. The objectives were to determine if a diet enriched in α-linolenic acid (omega-3) or linoleic acid (omega-6) would influence milk production and composition, metabolic status, and reproductive performance in lactating dairy cows. High-yielding multiparous Holstein dairy cows (n = 120) with no overt clinical illnesses were blocked according to calving date and parity. Cows were assigned randomly to be fed 1) soybean whole roast (Soy, omega-6, n = 40) or 2) linseed (Lin, omega-3, n = 40) or 3) palm oil as a source of SFA (PO, n = 40) from calving until first heat after 40 d postpartum (dpp), and then half of the cows in each treatment group were switched to receive either Lin or SFA (PO) from first heat after d 40 to 120 dpp. Blood was collected from a subsample of cows. Blood was collected at 14 d intervals for 12 wk, starting on the day of calving. Results showed milk yield and DMI were not affected. Milk compositions were similar (P > 0.08) among diets, except concentration and yield of milk fat percentage, which was less in cows fed Lin (P < 0.05). Uterine involution in cows fed Soy occurred earlier (P < 0.05). Diets affected day to first estrus and day to first insemination in cows (P < 0.05). There were no differences among treatments for percent heat detection, percent pregnancy per first insemination, and percent conception per AI at estrus. Also, there is a trend of pregnancy by 120 d, which is 66.7% for the Lin group vs. 50.91% for the PO group (P < 0.08). Of the 4 pregnancy losses, 2 occurred in PO-PO group and 2 occurred in Soy-PO group, and none occurred in the other 4 treatments. In conclusion, our study showed feeding omega-6 fatty acids during 40 dpp could be a good treatment for early postpartum periods, and a shift to omega-3 fatty acids until 40 d after AI can be considered as a strategy for improving fertility in lactating dairy cows.