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Animals
Special Issues
Poultry Mineral and Vitamin Nutrition: Molecular Mechanisms and Nutritional Strategies
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Poultry Mineral and Vitamin Nutrition: Molecular Mechanisms and Nutritional Strategies

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Poultry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 1830

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yun Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225000, China
Interests: mineral nutrition; nutritional physiology; anti-stress; epigenetic modification; transcriptional regulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Tingting Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225000, China
Interests: vitamin nutrition; liver metabolism; oxidative stress; bone development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mineral elements and vitamins are not only essential nutrients for maintaining health, normal growth and development, and efficient production in poultry but also directly participate in many physiological and metabolic processes. For example, macro-minerals such as calcium and phosphorus are the main components of bones and eggshells; micro-elements such as zinc and selenium work together with vitamins to regulate the body's immune system, antioxidant defense, and various metabolic pathways. Precise regulation of these nutrients can effectively prevent common nutritional metabolic diseases such as leg disorders, abnormal bone development, and fatty liver diseases in poultry, thereby significantly improving production performance, stress resistance, and overall health. Therefore, a deep understanding of ‘Poultry Mineral and Vitamin Nutrition’ is of great significance for formulating scientific nutritional strategies and ensuring poultry health. Subtopics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. The requirements for mineral elements and vitamins in poultry;
  2. The regulatory effects of mineral elements and vitamins on the growth, development, and production performance of poultry;
  3. The role of mineral elements and vitamins in poultry stress resistance and corresponding nutritional strategies;
  4. The functions of mineral elements and vitamins in enhancing disease resilience in poultry and related nutritional interventions.

Dr. Yun Hu
Dr. Tingting Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • poultry
  • mineral nutrition
  • vitamin nutrition
  • molecular mechanisms
  • nutritional strategies

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2243 KB  
Article
Effects of Betaine on DNA Methylation Level, Expression Level, and Fat Synthesis of VNN1 in Goose Hepatocytes
by Zhi Yang, Usman Nazir, Xinfang Wang, Xucheng Zheng, Haiming Yang and Zhiyue Wang
Animals 2026, 16(4), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16040570 - 12 Feb 2026
Viewed by 453
Abstract
This experiment was conducted to explore the effects of betaine on the DNA methylation level, expression level, and fat synthesis of VNN1 in goose hepatocytes by isolating the primary hepatocytes of goose at the cellular level and constructing a fatty degeneration model of [...] Read more.
This experiment was conducted to explore the effects of betaine on the DNA methylation level, expression level, and fat synthesis of VNN1 in goose hepatocytes by isolating the primary hepatocytes of goose at the cellular level and constructing a fatty degeneration model of goose hepatocytes. In the study, 23-day-old Taizhou goose embryos were used as the research object, and free fatty acid (PA:OA = 2:1) was used to induce steatosis of goose primary hepatocytes. The experiment was randomly divided into seven groups: control group, steatosis model group, and betaine (2, 10, 25, 50, 100mM) group. After 24 h of cell culture, cell viability, oil red O staining, and lipid metabolism-related indicators in cell supernatant were measured, and cells were collected to determine VNN1, FAS, ACC, SCD, SREBPQ gene expression and VNN1 promoter region DNA methylation level. (1) The addition of 0.5 mM fatty acids successfully determined the degeneration of goose hepatocytes. The levels of TG and LDL were significantly increased (p < 0.05), and the level of HDL was significantly decreased. (2) The addition of 100 mM betaine significantly reduced TG levels, and 10, 25, 50, and 100 mM betaine significantly reduced LDL levels. The addition of betaine had no significant effect on HDL level compared to the FFA group (p > 0.05), although a significant overall model effect was observed. Oil red O staining showed that the area of lipid droplets in cells with 50 mM betaine decreased most significantly. (3) The expression levels of VNN1, FAS, ACC, SCD, and SREBPQ genes in the fat model group were significantly higher compared to the control group (p < 0.05), and the DNA methylation level in the promoter region of the VNN1 gene decreased. (4) The addition of 2, 10, 25, 50, and 100 mM betaine significantly reduced the expression of VNN1. The expression of FAS in 2, 10, and 25 mM betaine groups significantly decreased. Betaine at 10 and 100 mM significantly reduced the expression of SREBPQ, but it showed no significant effect on ACC expression. Addition of 2, 50, and 100 mM betaine led to an increased DNA methylation status at the VNN1 gene promoter region. In summary, the addition of betaine can reduce the expression of fatty acid synthesizing genes such as FAS, SCD, and SREBPQ, down-regulate the expression level of the VNN1 gene, increase the DNA methylation level of the VNN1 promoter region, and reduce lipid deposition in goose liver steatosis cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Poultry Mineral and Vitamin Nutrition: Molecular Mechanisms and Nutritional Strategies)
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15 pages, 275 KB  
Article
Comparative Efficacy of Selenium Yeast Supplements on the Health and Productivity of Commercial Layers
by Muhammad Zain Ghauri, Muhammad Sharif, Ayesha Zafar, Umer Farooq, Muhammad Talha, Safdar Hassan, Usman Nazir and Dejun Ji
Animals 2026, 16(1), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16010023 - 21 Dec 2025
Viewed by 1012
Abstract
This study was conducted to evaluate the comparative efficacy of graded levels of dietary organic selenium (OS) on the health, productivity, and egg quality of commercial laying hens. A total of 240 hens (26 weeks old) were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments [...] Read more.
This study was conducted to evaluate the comparative efficacy of graded levels of dietary organic selenium (OS) on the health, productivity, and egg quality of commercial laying hens. A total of 240 hens (26 weeks old) were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments in a completely randomized design: a control basal diet (0 ppm OS) and three diets supplemented with OS from selenium yeast (SY-2000 or SY-3000) to achieve levels of 0.20, 0.30, and 0.45 ppm, respectively. The experiment lasted for 72 days. Performance metrics were recorded weekly, and samples were collected at two time points to assess physiological responses. The results demonstrated that supplementation with 0.30 and 0.45 ppm OS significantly improved key productivity parameters. Egg production (p < 0.05), egg weight (p < 0.001), and cumulative egg mass (p < 0.001) were higher in these groups compared to the control. Nutrient digestibility, including dry matter, crude protein, and ether extract, was also significantly enhanced (p < 0.001) at the higher OS levels. The antioxidant defense system was strengthened, as evidenced by the increased serum activity of the glutathione peroxidase (p < 0.001), superoxide dismutase (p < 0.01), and diphenyl picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacity (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the humoral immune response against Newcastle disease showed a significant, dose-dependent improvement (p < 0.001). In contrast, feed intake, various egg quality parameters (shell thickness, specific gravity, and Haugh unit), and serum mineral profiles remained unaffected (p > 0.05) by OS supplementation. In conclusion, dietary OS supplementation at 0.30–0.45 ppm effectively enhances laying performance, nutrient utilization, systemic antioxidant capacity, and specific immunity, with the 0.45 ppm level demonstrating the most consistent and comprehensive benefits under the conditions of this study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Poultry Mineral and Vitamin Nutrition: Molecular Mechanisms and Nutritional Strategies)
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