Special Issue "Genetic Selection and Associated Defects in Poultry Production"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Shuen Ei Chen
E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
Interests: cell signaling in myogenesis; genetic selection; poultry production; carbohydrate/lipid dysregulation and related disorders
Prof. Dr. Rosemary L. Walzem
E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA
Interests: nutritional biochemistry; broiler breeders; egg production; particle physical properties
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Genetic selection to improve the productivity of farm animals is practical and applicable in the animal industry. In the case of broiler chickens, intensive genetic selection for early rapid growth over the past decades has greatly increased growth rate and feed efficiency. The overall feed conversion rate is less than 1.8, and 2 kg market weight is reached within 6 weeks. This conversion rate of current broiler strains is at least 4-fold higher than that of Leghorn layers and their unselected ancestors in the 1950s. However, this genetically driven rapid growth rate is collaterally associated with many undesirable consequences, such as a higher incidence of ascites, tibial dyschondroplasia (TD), skeletal deformities, fatty liver and kidney syndrome, obesity, necrotic enteritis, and poor reproductive performance. The severity of these defects is further exacerbated in adult breeders. Despite numerous genomic studies with annotation in molecular regulation loops, comprehensive mechanisms for cellular, physiological, and functional validation remain elusive. In other species such as layers, turkeys, and ducks, selection for a certain productive performance is also inevitably associated with undesirable defects such as TD and cardiomyopathy. In the recent decade, selection for better productivity in domestic animals has been raised to a higher plane with the issues of animal welfare. This may drive more studies to focus on the aspect linking selection to animal physiology and welfare.

Topics of this Special Issue will cover a wide range of interests, for example, the genetic effects of poultry species on animal reproduction, nutrition, immunology, physiology, pathology, and welfare.

Prof. Shuen Ei Chen
Prof. Rosemary L. Walzem
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 papers will be 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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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 monthly 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 1800 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 genetic disorders
  • poultry production
  • broiler chickens

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Differential Modulation of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol on Innate Immunity of Broiler Breeder Hens
Animals 2021, 11(6), 1742; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11061742 - 10 Jun 2021
Viewed by 1159
Abstract
Past immunological studies in broilers focused on juveniles within the rapid pre-slaughter growth period and may not reflect adult immune responses, particularly in breeders managed with chronic feed restriction (R). The study aimed to assess innate immune cell functions in respect to R [...] Read more.
Past immunological studies in broilers focused on juveniles within the rapid pre-slaughter growth period and may not reflect adult immune responses, particularly in breeders managed with chronic feed restriction (R). The study aimed to assess innate immune cell functions in respect to R vs. ad libitum (Ad) feed intake in breeder hens with and without dietary 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D3) supplementation. Ad-feed intake consistently suppressed IL-1β secretion, respiratory burst, and cell livability in peripheral heterophils and/or monocytes along the feeding trial from the age of 51 to 68 weeks. Supplemental 25-OH-D3 repressed IL-1β secretion and respiratory burst of both cells mostly in R-hens, but promoted monocyte phagocytosis, chemotaxis, and bacterial killing activity in Ad-hens in accompany with relieved hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and systemic inflammation. Overnight cultures with leukocytes from R-hens confirmed the differential effects of 25-OH-D3 to rescue immune functions altered by glucose and/or palmitic acid exposure. Studies with specific inhibitors further manifested the operative mechanisms via glucolipotoxicity in a cell type- and function-dependent manner. The results concluded no predominant changes between R- vs. Ad-feed intake on leukocyte defense against pathogens despite some differential differences, but supplemental 25-OH-D3 exerts more pronounced effects in Ad-hens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Selection and Associated Defects in Poultry Production)
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