Proteomic analysis of the hypothalamus of broiler-type Taiwan country chickens in response to acute heat stress

Integrated Genomic Approaches to Characterize and Mitigate Heat Stress in Poultry

With the burgeoning human population, climate change, and expansion of poultry production in hot climates, it is imperative to aid global food security by enhancing the resilience of thermally challenged poultry. As a complement to management approaches used to mitigate heat stress, we give selected examples of recent studies on heat stress in poultry using various omics technologies. An integrated analysis of positional and functional candidate genes is provided, highlighting the most prominent pathways involved in the heat stress response. We finish by discussing efficient strategies to enhance thermal tolerance of poultry by genomics approaches, advocating for preservation of biodiversity that may provide beneficial allelic variation, and identifying current and future challenges in producing climate-resilient poultry.

A comparative study of acute heat tolerance and meat quality in three chicken breeds

In order to breed a strain that has heat tolerance and meat productivity, the commercial red-feathered Taiwan native chickens were male (F group), and heat stress resistant strain Taiwan native chickens (Taishu-9, bred by the Taiwan Livestock Research Institute) were female (TR9 group) to hybridize to generate offspring (F9 group). Three breeds of birds (male) were conducted to compare acute heat stress and meat quality. At 12 weeks of age, TR9 group showed the significantly lowest activity of plasma creatine kinase upon acute heat stress which indicated heat stress resistant in TR9 group as expected. In addition, only limited thermoregulation was obtained in F9 group, while F group exhibited almost no acute heat stress tolerance ability. After slaughtered at 16 weeks of age, the F group revealed poor meat quality in breast meat as pale, soft, and exudative (PSE)-like muscle samples according to CIE L* and pH value. The F9 group was an offspring of TR9 group with heat tolerance, but it only demonstrated limitation of heat resistance. However, the improve meat quality was obtained in F9 group compared to F group, and that may be contributed from better anti-stress as like as TR9 group during slaughtering process.

Annotation of differential protein expression in the hypothalami of layer-type Taiwan country chickens in response to acute heat stress

The hypothalamus is the coordinating center for maintaining temperature homeostasis. In this study, global protein expression in the hypothalami of layer-type Taiwan country chickens in response to acute heat stress was investigated. Twelve 30-week-old female TCCs were divided into three acute heat-stressed groups, namely acute heat stress at 36 °C for 4 h with 0 h (without recovery, H4R0), 2 h (H4R2), or 6 h (H4R6) of recovery. A control group was maintained at 25 °C. Hypothalamus samples were collected at the end of each time point for proteomic analysis. The analysis results revealed that 134 protein spots representing 118 distinct proteins exhibited differential expressions after acute heat stress treatment. Results of gene ontology analysis showed that most of the differentially expressed proteins are involved in carbohydrate metabolism, cellular processes, actin cytoskeleton organization, and responses to stimuli. Functional pathway analysis results suggested that the proteins are associated with networks of carbon metabolism, glycolysis, and gluconeogenesis. Upregulation of the expression of triosephosphate isomerase, phosphoglycerate kinase, pyruvate kinase, alpha-enolase, glycogen phosphorylase (brain form), phosphoglucomutase, L-lactate dehydrogenase A chain and downregulation of 6-phosphogluconolactonase expression indicated an increase in the glycolytic activity and glucose supply for ATP production in the hypothalami in response to heat stress. By contrast, upregulated expressions of heat shock protein 90 alpha, glutathione S-transferase 2s, peroxiredoxin-1, and dihydropyrimidinase-like 2 suggested that acute heat stress adversely affects the hypothalamus; thus, it induces mechanisms that prevent oxidative damage and endoplasmic reticulum stress. In conclusion, acute heat stress induces differential protein expression in the hypothalami of the L2 strain Taiwan country chickens, which may manifest detrimental effects. Furthermore, differential expression is a critical response in the hypothalamus for the regulation of thermotolerance.