Date of Graduation

5-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Animal Science

Advisor/Mentor

Dridi, Sami

Committee Member/Reader

Powell, Jeremy

Committee Member/Second Reader

Bottje, Walter

Abstract

Abstract

Broilers, meat-type chickens, are bred for high growth rate and meat yield. These chickens have specific challenges due to heat stress. The adverse effects that impact these chickens have lead us to study the mechanisms involved. The objective of this study is to evaluate the expression of genes involved in intestinal permeability of heat- stressed broiler chickens. All analyses are on previously collected tissues. A total of 600 one day old Cobb 500 male chicks were weighed and randomly assigned to 12 environmental chambers. Ambient temperature in the chambers was gradually decreased from 32˚C on d 1 to 24˚C at d 21. At 8am on d 21, the temperature was increased to 35˚C in 6 of the chambers to induce HS. All chambers reached 35°C within 15 minutes of temperature adjustment. Thermoneutral (TN) chambers were maintained at 24°C. After 2h of HS, the thermologger birds were humanely euthanized via cervical dislocation. The gut was dissected and a ~2cm portion of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum were collected. These samples underwent RNA extraction and cDNA reverse transcription to prepare for quantification using real-time PCR. This is an additional study to evaluating what genes play a role in leaky gut syndrome in heat stress broiler chickens to further understand the genetic potential of regulating heat-stress. The results of this study showed a down-regulation of HSP 70 in the duodenum under heat-stress and mostly no significant change of HSP 90, HSP 60, HSP27, GRP75, Claudin, Occludin, and Zo-1.

Keywords

chicken, intestinal permeability, tight junctions, heat-shock proteins, gut barrier function

Download

Share

COinS